There’s a lot of this particular thought going around lately: does that make it a meme?
Category Archives: Books
Operation Global Media Domination: The Proust Questionnaire Situation
Yes, yet another self-referential blog post. After all, what else is there for me to talk about but…you know…me? I’m an expert on me. I know me backwards and forwards, inside and out (or at least I do since I saw that CAT scan) upside and down.
In Bizarro World, raincoaster falls asleep every night promptly at a reasonable hour, beside one of: Viggo Mortensen, Johnny Depp, Steve Jobs, James Tiberius Kirk, Henry V as played by Kenneth Branagh, Michael Lewis, or Sebastian Junger; the bed is stuffed with fluffy, fluffy Krugerrands, and the nightgown is carved from one solid, flawless diamond. Ah, for a life of ease!
In Bizarro World, raincoaster works for Vanity Fair, or rather VF publishes old blog posts of mine, with the YouTubes embedded right in the glossy pages using special technology developed just for me.
And, most importantly, in Bizarro World raincoaster is profiled by Vanity Fair.
The raincoaster Proust Questionnaire:
1. What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Uh, didn’t you READ the post?
2. What is your greatest fear?
Server problems. If a blog falls in the forest and nobody’s subscribed to the RSS feed…
3. What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Modesty. I’ve almost completely succeeded in eradicating it, but not quite.
4. What is the trait you most deplore in others?
An inability to recognize my awesomenosity
5. Which living person do you most admire?
Besides myself?
6. What is your greatest extravagance?
Gin. My liver has a vested interest in keeping me poor and sober.
7. What is your current state of mind?
Fried. This getting up in the MORNING is for the birds. Right, birds wake up early. Birds eat worms. Therefore, getting up early sucks.
8. What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
Getting up early, duh. Haven’t you been reading?
9. On what occasion do you lie?
When the truth would give a falsely modest impression of my awesomenosity. It just wouldn’t be fair.
10. What do you most dislike about your appearance?
My tentacles will NOT stay combed.
11. Which living person do you most despise?
Is Thatcher still alive? Bush? The guy who cancelled M.A.S.H.? WHY MUST THESE QUESTIONS BE SO HARD?
12. What is the quality you most like in a man?
The ability to be Viggo Mortensen.
13. What is the quality you most like in a woman?
The ability not to get between me and Viggo Mortensen.
14. Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
Me, Myself and I would like you to define “overuse.”
15. What or who is the greatest love of your life?
Again, I am forced to ask haven’t you been reading this?
16. When and where were you happiest?
Any day now.
17. Which talent would you most like to have?
The ability to fake sincerity.
18. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
My socks. And if you were sitting beside me, you wouldn’t need to ask why.
19. What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Earning the good home-maker badge and the whatchamacallit, housewife emblem, in Girl Guides, thus proving once and for all that I can do ANYTHING.
20. If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?
The vindictive joke of a malevolent god, that’s what me coming back would be. The fucker.
21. Where would you most like to live?
Olympus. Failing that, Not-Ucluelet.
22. What is your most treasured possession?
My self-possession, obviously!
23. What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
No Followers.
24. What is your favorite occupation?
What are you hiring for, big fella?
25. What is your most marked characteristic?
Did you read this one?
26. What do you most value in your friends?
The ability to buy me drinks at the Heather.
27. Who are your favorite writers?
The ones who buy me drinks, and not just what they’re having.
28. Who is your hero of fiction?
I’d say Caspian the Tenth, King of Narnia, but he’s not fictional.
29. Which historical figure do you most identify with?
Myself.
30. Who are your heroes in real life?
See #27
31. What are your favorite names?
Robin, Anastasia, Skippy the Klingon
32. What is it that you most dislike?
Blogathons
33. What is your greatest regret?
Volunteering to do this blogathon without laying in an adequate supply of gin and/or z’s.
34. How would you like to die?
Vindicated. Stole that one from Fran Lebowitz, but how could I not?
35. What is your motto?
49 degrees latitude, 360 degrees attitude!
This is a Blogathon post. Don’t just sit there, SPONSOR ME!
3 Day Novel Contest Writer’s Retreat
I know I’m posting this up everywhere I possibly can (except perhaps at Lolebrity.net) but it deserves repeating. Quite an exclusive gathering this will be.
From a bright-eyed Friday, September 4th through to a groggy, shaken Tuesday the 8th morning, we’ll be closeting ourselves away in a secluded BC resort doing nothing but writing. The goal: to create a novel from start to finish in three straight days.
Every year the 3 Day Novel Contest comes around, and every year, something gets in the way. The purpose of this retreat is to ensure that over those three caffeine and stress-packed days, you have nothing else to do but write. And maybe slam some energy drinks.
You can also join this event on Facebook and you can join the Shebeen Club itself there as well.
| Host: | |
| Start Time: |
Friday, 04 September 2009 at 17:00
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| End Time: |
Tuesday, 08 September 2009 at 11:00
|
| Location: |
a resort within an easy ferry ride/drive of Vancouver
|
| Town/City: |
Beautiful BC
|
| Phone: | 778-235-0592 but email instead, PLEASE |
| Email: |
lorraine.murphy at gmail.com
|
Meals, shelter, companionship and isolation as you choose: all are included in the price. We’re still in negotiations, but at this point it looks like the four days (checkout 11am Tuesday) will run us about $500, including your 3 Day Novel Contest registration fee of $50.
There is an absolute maximum of 20 attendees, so express your interest sooner rather than later.
Obviously, we’ve yet to lock all the deets down, so consider this a preliminary announcement and we’ll consider your ATTENDING/MAYBE/NOPE RSVP to be equally tentative until everything is ready for launch. We’ll contact everyone then with the official registration link, where you’ll be able to make your reservation via debit, paypal, or credit card. For now, just drop a comment or email to let us know you’re interested and we’ll keep you informed.
Oh, and by the way, we’re not officially affiliated with the 3 Day Novel Contest, we’re just big fans who’ve been thinking about doing this for years.
The Booty Call of Cthulhu
Carrying on from our infamous Cthulhu Porn post (warning: CTHULHU GOATSE, THE ULTIMATE EVIL), we present the following. In case you read The Dunwich Horror, extrapolated (as is your wont) from the circumstances surrounding the conception of Wilbur Whatley, and wondered what kind of woman would do the dirty with Mister Big Himself, Cthulhu.
Behold:
It explains so very much.
Publication and Treasure: the Shebeen Club meeting for May
cross-posted from BOTH raincoastermedia.com and Facebook, because our domain name at the Shebeen Club blog is currently in limbo, and cannot be fixed for a few days.
Building on last month’s successful meeting re-examining the existing publishing model, we’ve lined up renegade publisher and artist Robert Chaplin of independent publisher Library Editions to give us his take on end-running the Old Boy’s Network.
On Monday May 18th at the Shebeen Club Royal Canadian Academician Robert Chaplin will discuss publication and treasure, vis a vis the extinction of codex in the electronic age.
The importance of perfect rhyme and meter with respect to the mainstream absorption of hip hop.
Robert Chaplin was born under a lucky star and has fed pancakes to WhiskeyJacks.
Mr Chaplin will be launching his fourth Library Edition trade hardcover ‘Brussels Sprouts & Unicorns’ Thursday May 21st at Walrus, 18th & Cambie.
Who: Robert Chaplin and the Shebeen Club
What: our monthly meeting
When: 6-9pm Monday, May 18th
Where: The Shebeen, behind the Irish Heather, 210 Carrall Street in Vancouver
Deets: $15 includes dinner and a drink, so what are you waiting for?
raincoaster 