apologies for delay - I've been swamped!

1. Pick one of your favorite movies and describe why you like it.

Hmm. . . tough one. I'll pick one that will piss people off and say LAND OF THE DEAD. While many people hated it for being either too slick or too slow or not gory enough or whatever - what I loved about it was its subtle political message. The film refused to give us the 'kill-zombies-feel-good' crap we wanted. I thought it was a great and thoughtful response to America in the post-9/11 world. I loved beginning with the zombies and the growing sympathy we feel for them as the whole thing goes to shit - not total sympathy, but ambivalent sympathy. I really thought this was the natural follow-up to DAY OF THE DEAD!

2. Why do monkeys fascinate you so?

OK, assuming we have to be totally honest here I'll confess. They don't. Not that I don't like monkeys, it has just become this thing. So, for all to hear, this is the story. Not long after joining HDC I picked a monkey picture from the Gorillaz album to be my avatar - mainly because I liked the album and thought the picture was cool. Then everyone started calling me 'monkey man' and so I went with the flow and started posting lots of monkey pics - - - soon it became my identity on HDC. . . and then my tail started to grow!

3. If you are cooking to impress someone, what might you cook?

I make a mean spinach/sun-dried tomato risotto. I like that for gatherings and the (very rare) date because I can have it all ready to go before people arrive and then I can chill with them before putting the food on!

4. Tell us about the last book you read.

The last one i finished was Lisey's Story by Stephen King. I liked it and thought the writing was the best for King in about a decade. (That said, there were parts I could have lived without and the eventual payoff, while satisfying, was a bit overly telegraphed.)

I'm currently reading Haruki Murakami's SPUTNIK SWEETHEART, which I'm enjoying immensely (though not as much as his KAFKA ON THE SHORE, which I loved!)

5. What do you like to do purely for fun

Hike mainly. Its the only activity I do that has no work relation or career aspiration (I write some, mainly reviews and stuff, and I enjoy it but its not JUST for fun). I hike mainly in the northeast - Maine, New Hampshire, New York - and I prefer mountains to just long hikes. I've climbed around 100 or so mountains around the world (a few in Scotland and Wales, and a few in the French Alps) though, again, mainly in the northeast.

OK - my turn to play Dick Cavett (. . . who???) and my guest for today is VODSTOK!

VOD - please give us the answers we crave for these five questions:

1) How did you meet your wife and when did you know it was true love?

2) Tell us about your job and what you do on a daily basis?

3) What brought you to HDC?

4) Are there any political beliefs that you hold dear? What kinds of issues really get your blood pumping?

and, 5) We all know you like to write, how do you write? Where do you get ideas, what are your ideal 'writing' conditions, etc.?

Here we go….
1) How did you meet your wife and when did you know it was true love?
My sister met her in a chat room and for some bizarre reason decided to have me chat with her. I normally blew this kind of thing off, but not this time. We hit it off, and even though she lived 3 hours away, she accepted my date request. I knew it was true love a few months later when I met her family for the first time. Not only were they very cool to me, but I had a massive allergy attack from her grandmother’s cats and dogs and ended up getting a vicious case of the flu on top of it. I spent 3 days in bed and she took care of me, going so far as to drive me the 4 hours back (through a blizzard) to her dorm so I could go home. Instant love.

2) Tell us about your job and what you do on a daily basis?
I am a software engineer, but most of what I have done with my current job is support some of the programs and services we run, and to perform basic maintenance (password resets, etc) on the programs we control

3) What brought you to HDC?
In all honesty? I came here to pimp my site, but I didn’t want to be a douchebag and say “Come visit my super cool website”, so I found relevant things to talk about. Turns out, I got along with quite a few people here and I stuck around.

4) Are there any political beliefs that you hold dear? What kinds of issues really get your blood pumping?
Oh, there are all kinds, I am very opinionated. I think the right and the left get most things wrong. I don’t think we NEED guns (and the NRA is NOT “freedom’s front line”… get over yourselves), but that there is nothing wrong with owning them

I think pro-lifers should have to raise any and all kids they were directly or indirectly responsible for being born.

I wish politicians would grow the hell up and stop blaming the media for all the woes in life.


5) We all know you like to write, how do you write? Where do you get ideas, what are your ideal 'writing' conditions, etc.?

I typically like a nice, serene setting, not a lot of background noise. I like ambient music, the darker the better (the quake soundtrack is my staple, American McGee’s Alice helps also). As much visual stimulation as I can get helps, but anything that gets me going emotionally works.

I get ideas from everything, documentaries about the military, songs, offhanded comments by people, movies, stories, videogames, you name it.

kewl insight on ppl..
vodstok its ure turn now ..
choose a guest!!choose a guest!!
'pant pant'

You know, stubborn, I'm really enjoying this thread (as long as people keep answering honestly and not being "funny" or sarcastic. It's interesting to get a little insight on people.

I think i will ask Rod some questions.... Seeing as how i find a way to ambush him with questions all the time anyway...

1) Did you go to college, and if so, what was your major?

2) Who is your favorite director? And Why?

3) What was your favorite job before your current one?

4) What brought you to HDC? (I know i was asked this one, but it's a good one)

5) If you had the opportunity to make it so that every screenplay you ever wrote would become a feature film, without exception, would you trade that for an opportunity to direct one of them? this is purely hypothetical, but you would have to pick, if you chose the first part, every screenplay you wrote would become a major motion picture, but you would never ever get an opportunity to direct, and vice versa.

you should have asked him what he thought about your giant man crush on him. :p

Voddie and Roddie,
Sitting in a tree,
K-I-S-S-I-N-G

First comes Love
Then Comes Marriage,
Then Comes Voddie with a Baby Carriage

(So much for HF's request that we stay mature and honest!) :p

That's not what I was talking about - I was talking about the people being interviewed when they give their answers.

smartass monkey :D

Oh so giving me shit for looking up to the guy is fine. FINE.

:p