1} You are the Queen of England. What do you keep in your Royal Handbag?
Just lipstick. The Royal Lipstick. I mean, I’m the Queen! I have no need for mundane things such as wallets and money and personal identification.

2} Let's play the political version of Marry; Shag; Throw off a Cliff with Barack Obama; Tony Blair; Nicolas Sarkozy.
Marry: Barack Obama (No explanation/justification necessary)
Shag: Sarko. I know, he’s abhorrent, but he is also French. Which means he is inherently HOT.
Throw off a Cliff: Tony Blair. Sorry, Tony.

3} You get to have lunch with one author, living or dead. Describe the lunch to us, in as much or as little detail as you want. (Remember this is lunch, so it can be formal or informal, long or short, inclusive of three martinis or not. What do you eat, what do you discuss, what do you wear?).
I’d invite Jane Austen to lunch with me at my favorite restaurant downtown. I would send an actual invitation a few weeks before the appointed date to give her time to consider her response, her outfit, etc.

I’d have to dress to impress, not because I think Jane is a snob, but because I think Jane admires personal style. And I would just die of happiness if Jane Austen admired me, even for a second.

I would order us a bottle of champagne, and over a leisurely lunch, I’d pick her brain about her books. I’d love to know her thoughts on her own heroines and heroes. I’d like to know, what was the most difficult book for her to write? Who is her favorite of her own characters? Plus, I’d like to know her favorite book in general, her favorite fictional character, and what she most admires in a writer.

4} What do you take at High Tea? What is your favorite tea? (iced tea, green tea, loose leaf tea)
Mmmm, Tea Time! Personally, I like a bit of sugar in the afternoon, so, if I took High Tea everyday, I’d have mini pastries like pain au chocolat, sweets like petit fours. I adore all kinds of tea, but my favorite kind is Irish Breakfast tea. It’s so hearty and cozy. It instantly makes me feel peaceful.

5} Tell us about a book you wish you had *never* read. (because it wasn't up to your standards of excellence, it just plain sucked, it made you a victim of its literary charisma and has ruined you for all other books, etc.)
Honestly, not something like The DaVinci Code or Twilight. I’m glad I read those so that I could experience first hand what truly awful writing is.

No, I’m more offended by bland, mediocre writing. I’ve got to go with The Jane Austen Book Club. I thought that book had a brilliant premise, because Jane and her heroines really are still relevant to women today. And it’s not that the book was poorly written, as much as it was poorly executed. There was no flair. There was no hook beyond OMG, JANE AUSTEN. The writer showed no personal style of her own, which is truly a faux pas to me. Why would I bother to read a book, where it appears that the author hardly even cares about the subject?

6} You are a socialite with unlimited funds. This means you don't need a job, so you are free to do as you please. How do you spend your days?
I love to travel, so I would have my permanent (fantastic) apartment in Manhattan, but I would have standing reservations at hotels in Paris, London, Venice & Prague. I think best in the morning, so I would do my shopping in the morning. ;) I would lunch at Bergdorf’s or maybe the restaurant at the Met. I’d spend afternoons browsing around art galleries or museums. I’d spend some evenings at the theater, some evenings going to lovely restaurants (like Daniel in NYC), and some evenings just cozied up at home.

7} What, to you, denotes truly bad taste?
Banality. You can be rude or uneducated, but at least have the courtesy to be interesting about it.

8} What is the height of sophistication?
Sophistication to me, means finding a balance between being confident in your own convictions, yet also knowing you have a lot to learn from others and taking the time to listen to them.

Lastly, what is your friending policy? (i.e. is your journal f-locked)

I'm Friends Only.

I think I read the questions too literally! OH WELL.

We are already friends, otherwise I would f-request you. And- going to pimp you out in my journal right now =D

1} You are the Queen of England. What do you keep in your Royal Handbag?
Lipstick (I wear lipstick, not lip gloss--that's apparently rare amongst 22 year olds?), a change purse, an iPod, and... That's it. Am I suppose dot carry cooler stuff because I'm queen? /confused
2} Let's play the political version of Marry; Shag; Throw off a Cliff with Barack Obama; Tony Blair; Nicolas Sarkozy.
As noted, I would fuck and marry Obama. The other guys can go have a cup of coffee together or something; I don't really care/know about them.
3} You get to have lunch with one author, living or dead. Describe the lunch to us, in as much or as little detail as you want. (Remember this is lunch, so it can be formal or informal, long or short, inclusive of three martinis or not. What do you eat, what do you discuss, what do you wear?).
Hmmmm...For the longest time I would've said Margaret Mitchell, cause she's like God and stuff, but I think now I'll go with Kurt Vonnegut. I would love to chat with him about politics, Obama, war, and whatnot, and his eccentricities might make him a cool date. We would go to a diner (he would want to smoke, so it'd likely be allowed there) and eat grilled cheese sandwiches. Afterwards, we would eat 3 Musketeers bars, even if they are symbolic of decadence. ;)
4} What do you take at High Tea? What is your favorite tea? (iced tea, green tea, loose leaf tea)
I don't like iced tea that much (I fail as a southerner sometimes), but I like this orange tea from Peet's Coffee. I hate any and all mint teas, though. Bleugh.
5} Tell us about a book you wish you had *never* read. (because it wasn't up to your standards of excellence, it just plain sucked, it made you a victim of its literary charisma and has ruined you for all other books, etc.)
"Scarlett," by Alexandra Ripley. I only read the first 130 pages before I took it out back and burned it in the barbeque pit. It was TERRIBLE and blasphemous against "Gone with the Wind."
6} You are a socialite with unlimited funds. This means you don't need a job, so you are free to do as you please. How do you spend your days?
I would still work or volunteer at something: I can't just lay about, and I like having little projects or whatever. I would likely work at a book store, and I would feel free to write as I please and finally start that novel I've been wanting to write forever. I would also take cooking classes.
7} What, to you, denotes truly bad taste?
Hmm... If you like any of the following, you have bad taste: "American Idol," Burger King french fries, Sarah Palin, the skinny-jeans look, "Two and a Half Men," Nicholas Sparks, Keira Knightley (I hate her)
8} What is the height of sophistication?
Owning your own silver set
Lastly, what is your friending policy? (i.e. is your journal f-locked)
Mine is not f-locked. I'll friend just about anyone who likes something(s) I like, but I do post "friends-only" posts from time to time (often those focused on my boyfriend or those that feature my "real" name).

Owning your own silver set

This is a badass answer.

Oh, and it's so true that Two and a Half Men is the definition of bad taste. Gaah!

Oh, Scarlett. I read like the first sentence, and then had to put it somewhere out of my sight because its very existence is not acceptable to me. It's like bad, gross fanfic that makes my skin crawl.

By the way, thanks for the book question!

1} You are the Queen of England. What do you keep in your Royal Handbag?Nothing girly actually...I would be the worse Queen ever. Chapstick, mints, IPod, Best Buy membership card thingy...lol Geek Queen. :P



2} Let's play the political version of Marry; Shag; Throw off a Cliff with Barack Obama; Tony Blair; Nicolas Sarkozy. Marry Barack, Shag Tony Blair (BUT MICHAEL SHEEN TONY BLAIR) and throw Nicolas off a cliff. I would still shag Tony even if he wasn't Michael Sheen though... *shrugs*



3} You get to have lunch with one author, living or dead. Describe the lunch to us, in as much or as little detail as you want. (Remember this is lunch, so it can be formal or informal, long or short, inclusive of three martinis or not. What do you eat, what do you discuss, what do you wear?). I will go to lunch with J.K Rowling. We will go to Starbucks. I will have hot chocolate and a brownie (YUM). I will wear what I always wear and we will discuss Dumbledore being gay and any other hidden gay subtext in HP. It will be awesome. You are all welcome to join us. ;)



4} What do you take at High Tea? What is your favorite tea? (iced tea, green tea, loose leaf tea) I actually don't like tea....*runs away*



5} Tell us about a book you wish you had *never* read. (because it wasn't up to your standards of excellence, it just plain sucked, it made you a victim of its literary charisma and has ruined you for all other books, etc.) Twilight. Cause it opened me to a world I was okay with and now I hate it with a passion. Just, I need a Tardis and fast so I can go back and stop myself from ever reading taht shite...



6} You are a socialite with unlimited funds. This means you don't need a job, so you are free to do as you please. How do you spend your days?Oh, I would jet set. Regular days I would watch movies galore. But every other day I would travel to Rome, London, Berlin, Paris...and I would go to all the best museums and do all the best shopping. Is there any other choice? ♥



7} What, to you, denotes truly bad taste?Ignorance. Just...no. And I could do a huge list of people/shows that just project bad taste. But I sahll refrain.



8} What is the height of sophisticationA beautiful British Estate. Me want. ♥ ♥



Lastly, what is your friending policy? (i.e. is your journal f-locked) Friends Only.

And I am holding you to your word. I want Sheen and Goode. haha

Edited at 2009-04-03 02:16 am (UTC)

A beautiful British Estate

Shut up! Best answer ever! Mr. Sheen & Mr. Goode will be clamoring to visit you at your sumptuous estate. You know it!

I need a Tardis and fast so I can go back and stop myself from ever reading taht shite

LOL! I'm sure Ten would lend you his Tardis to take care of that. He would understand your urgent need. ;)

1} You are the Queen of England. What do you keep in your Royal Handbag?
Possibly extra jewels/shiny things, day-to-day planner (queens are busy!), cosmetics, cellphone (BlackBerry), and probably all sorts of knickknacks

2} Let's play the political version of Marry; Shag; Throw off a Cliff with Barack Obama; Tony Blair; Nicolas Sarkozy.
Marry: Barrack Obama. Because he would totally support me. You know it.
Shag: because I'd be too ashamed of myself afterwards
Throw off a cliff: Tony Blair. Sorry, because my opinion of him went down in the Bush years.

3} You get to have lunch with one author, living or dead. Describe the lunch to us, in as much or as little detail as you want. (Remember this is lunch, so it can be formal or informal, long or short, inclusive of three martinis or not. What do you eat, what do you discuss, what do you wear?).
Oh, I'd definately have lunch with Nora Roberts. You may look at me and ask "why?" but she's one of the most prolific writers today and her books are actually enjoyable, as opposed to books I have to read because it makes me more educated. We'd probably have an informal lunch, maybe at a cafe, she'd order coffee (that's what all her characters drink) and I would just have pepsi. We'd talk about love, of course, and powerful self-assured women. I'd also try to figure out what was with the constant use of "mature, unattached adults" and why all her women are tall.

4} What do you take at High Tea? What is your favorite tea? (iced tea, green tea, loose leaf tea)
Tea not my...um cup of tea, since I've never aquired the taste for it, but I will drink iced tea on occasion. I would love to high High Tea everyday, sadly, I don't think work would approve of it.

5} Tell us about a book you wish you had *never* read. (because it wasn't up to your standards of excellence, it just plain sucked, it made you a victim of its literary charisma and has ruined you for all other books, etc.)
This may come off as ridiculous, or maybe just bitter, but I wish I had never read the Harry Potter series. All of it. It seems a spent a good decade reading those books, expecting so much more from the end of it, only to get let down. Of course, I have nothing but respect for JKR. I just wish I had some hint of how the books would turn out so I could have given earlier.

Of, and the Eragon series. Don't get me started.

6} You are a socialite with unlimited funds. This means you don't need a job, so you are free to do as you please. How do you spend your days?
Well! After taking a good week of just sleeping and regaining all the energy I spent working, I'd finally move to Maine, but then I'd travel. See Russia and Rome, and then spend some time in Asia, before coming back to America spending the rest of my days holed up in a house beside Stephen King's and writing less horrorifying novels then him

7} What, to you, denotes truly bad taste?
A blanant disrespect of people. It's one thing to disagree, it's quite another to go about attacking someone because of those differences. Too much time and effort, in my opinion.

8} What is the height of sophistication?
I think when you feel like your sophisticiated, then you are. If you have a goal set for yourself, and you reach it, who's to say you're not sophisticated then? Even if it's to become a tattoo artist.

Lastly, what is your friending policy? (i.e. is your journal f-locked)
Mostly f-locked.

Edited at 2009-04-03 02:26 am (UTC)

Hi!

I just wanted to say, I love your Nora Roberts lunch.

You may look at me and ask "why?"

Ha, that's exactly what I thought when you mentioned her, but I loved your description of your casual, coffee meeting. And I hadn't thought about what a prolific writer she is. That's an accomplishment in and of itself.

Ha, I'd love to just stop work in the middle of the afternoon and take out time for a tea party. :)

1} You are the Queen of England. What do you keep in your Royal Handbag? The royally kick-ass ipod that Obama gifted me, breath mints, a gilded mirror, the usual assortment of cards and some muesli for when I'm hungry.

2} Let's play the political version of Marry; Shag; Throw off a Cliff with Barack Obama; Tony Blair; Nicolas Sarkozy. I would marry Sarkozy, shag Obama and throw Blair off a cliff.

3} You get to have lunch with one author, living or dead. Describe the lunch to us, in as much or as little detail as you want. (Remember this is lunch, so it can be formal or informal, long or short, inclusive of three martinis or not. What do you eat, what do you discuss, what do you wear?). HELLO, JANE AUSTEN. This would totally be high tea, with cucmber sandwiches and little cakes and teapots! And then we would have a giggle over Darcy (and other such men). I would borrow/buy/make a Victorian dress and do my hair and everything, it would be glorious.

4} What do you take at High Tea? What is your favorite tea? (iced tea, green tea, loose leaf tea) Speak of! I will take English Breakfast, please, or Chai, if you have it. Loose leaf, of course.

5} Tell us about a book you wish you had *never* read. (because it wasn't up to your standards of excellence, it just plain sucked, it made you a victim of its literary charisma and has ruined you for all other books, etc.) The sequels to Twilight. I mean, I think everyone's read Twilight just to see what it's about but WHY DID I THINK IT COULD GET BETTER?

6} You are a socialite with unlimited funds. This means you don't need a job, so you are free to do as you please. How do you spend your days? I would go all Blair Waldorf and just plan amazing, girly events. More to luxury sleepovers and study sessions!

7} What, to you, denotes truly bad taste? I'm sorry, but the wet-look leggings? That is truly horrendous. And that's really all I can think of. (I've since read everyone else's answers and realised I was being very abstract. Add- ignorance to this list.)

8} What is the height of sophistication? Proper grammar, punctuation and spelling whenever possible. Being polite and kind to everyone, not only when it's required of you. Plus- little black dresses with bright, candy-coloured heels.

Lastly, what is your friending policy? (i.e. is your journal f-locked) F-locked, but I'm pretty open with who I add.

Edited at 2009-04-03 02:44 am (UTC)

The royally kick-ass ipod that Obama gifted me

Bwhahaha! WIN.

I love your tea with Jane! We totally need to be BFFs with her. Giggling over Darcy/Knightley/Tilney with her is like a dream.

Oooh, and you'd marry Sarko? Out of curiosity, can I ask why? I think you're the first person to say you'd marry him.

1} You are the Queen of England. What do you keep in your Royal Handbag?
Cell phone, ipod (no matter what the Daily Mail says, that was a damned good present), water, book, chapstick, keys to the custom-detailed royal vespa. If I am the Queen of England, I get to decide what the Royal Vehicle is, right? And I want a seafoam green vespa.
2} Let's play the political version of Marry; Shag; Throw off a Cliff with Barack Obama; Tony Blair; Nicolas Sarkozy.
Marry Barack, obvs. Shag Sarkozy, as if someone as hot as Carla Bruni wants him you know he's got it. Sorry Tony.
3} You get to have lunch with one author, living or dead. Describe the lunch to us, in as much or as little detail as you want. (Remember this is lunch, so it can be formal or informal, long or short, inclusive of three martinis or not. What do you eat, what do you discuss, what do you wear?).
I have lunch with Dorothy Parker. Rather more than three martinis are drank. Not much is eaten. Witticisms are exchanged. I end up hating her because she's funnier. She ends up hating me because I'm a third-rate wannabe. We never have lunch again.
4} What do you take at High Tea? What is your favorite tea? (iced tea, green tea, loose leaf tea)
My favorite tea is either real chai, made the Indian way (I've always liked chai, but after my friend came back from India with a recipe for the real thing I loooove it), or iced tea with pomegranate the way they make it at one of my favorite cafes. But I always slump in the late afternoon, so if I have anything at high-tea time it's usually espresso. And if I were to have my own high-tea party I'd serve burritos and jack&coke in mismatched coffee mugs to mix it up.
5} Tell us about a book you wish you had *never* read. (because it wasn't up to your standards of excellence, it just plain sucked, it made you a victim of its literary charisma and has ruined you for all other books, etc.)
A Million Little Pieces. THANKS FOR NUTTIN JAMES FREY. I'm still bitter, three years later.
6} You are a socialite with unlimited funds. This means you don't need a job, so you are free to do as you please. How do you spend your days?
I travel. I spend the season in London, hit Rio for Carnival, live in a van on the beach and bathe in the ocean but eat in five-star resturants every night. Treat my friends to dinner and drinks every chance I get. Do some freelance writing too, since magazines are always looking for socialite or two to indulge their narcissism in their pages.
7} What, to you, denotes truly bad taste?
Not having your own taste. Liking what you're told to like. Also not reading.
8} What is the height of sophistication?
Somewhere I don't want to go, and if I did I wouldn't last a minute.
Lastly, what is your friending policy? (i.e. is your journal f-locked) Partly-friends only, if I'm talking about something personal.

The Queen riding a seafoam green vespa would definitely be a majestic sight.

Your Dorothy Parker lunch is priceless! Except, I think she'd end up hating you because you compete a little too well with her. ;)

1} You are the Queen of England. What do you keep in your Royal Handbag? The Prime Minister's balls. The crown jewels. An iPod.


2} Let's play the political version of Marry; Shag; Throw off a Cliff with Barack Obama; Tony Blair; Nicolas Sarkozy. Marry: Sarkozy. We'd probably have fun debating French foreign policy. And by fun I mean fights to the death, but I can go for that.
Shag: Blair. Wasn't he marginally hot when he was younger, anyway?
Cliff: Obama.


3} You get to have lunch with one author, living or dead. Describe the lunch to us, in as much or as little detail as you want. (Remember this is lunch, so it can be formal or informal, long or short, inclusive of three martinis or not. What do you eat, what do you discuss, what do you wear?). Salinger. I ask him to describe his personal theological journeys. I get bored, and let it slip that I once wrote Catcher in the Rye fanfiction when I was slightly younger and much more foolish. He discerns the meaning of the term, and kills me in cold blood, then hides my body. Poorly. Scandal ensues.


4} What do you take at High Tea? What is your favorite tea? (iced tea, green tea, loose leaf tea) Lipton cinnamon tea, because I am a peasant. And also can't be bothered.


5} Tell us about a book you wish you had *never* read. (because it wasn't up to your standards of excellence, it just plain sucked, it made you a victim of its literary charisma and has ruined you for all other books, etc.) Everything by Nabokov has nearly ruined me for all others, but I'm supremely happy I read them, so not that. So then, the "sequel" to The Secret Garden in which everyone was murderous/adulterous/suicidal. It came as near to ruining the original for me as anything could.


6} You are a socialite with unlimited funds. This means you don't need a job, so you are free to do as you please. How do you spend your days? I have difficulty seeing myself without a job. I'd probably start buying interesting but struggling business, like promising independent bookstores, and seeing if I could re-vamp them through savvy marketing strategies and appropriate financial planning.


7} What, to you, denotes truly bad taste? Willful ignorance and having a closed mind.


8} What is the height of sophistication? Grace and intelligence in one's life and dealings.


Lastly, what is your friending policy? (i.e. is your journal f-locked) Friending policy is open, as long as we have anything conceivable in common that might facilitate interesting discussions. Entries are mostly public.

Edited at 2009-04-03 03:36 am (UTC)

A sequel to The Secret Garden? What kind of fuckery is that?? No, seriously. WHAT. Secret Garden is one of my favorite books ever. I don't think I'd be able to make it through a sequel.

Love your snarky answers!

1} You are the Queen of England. What do you keep in your Royal Handbag?
Hand sanitizer, altoids (in a altiod tin that was especially designed for me), gloves, sunglasses, and a copy of the book I am reading.
2} Let's play the political version of Marry; Shag; Throw off a Cliff with Barack Obama; Tony Blair; Nicolas Sarkozy.
I do not know what this means...:(
3} You get to have lunch with one author, living or dead. Describe the lunch to us, in as much or as little detail as you want. (Remember this is lunch, so it can be formal or informal, long or short, inclusive of three martinis or not. What do you eat, what do you discuss, what do you wear?).
I have lunch with Jane Austen at her house, because she knows I am from the future and this meeting is only theoretical I dress in a light colored skirt and a matching cardigan, a nice blouse, tights, and flats. We have chicken sandwiches and tea nd water, we discuss settings and supporting characters and their effect on the overall mood of a story
4} What do you take at High Tea? What is your favorite tea? (iced tea, green tea, loose leaf tea)
Peach black tea with now sugar, steeped for two minutes.
5} Tell us about a book you wish you had *never* read. (because it wasn't up to your standards of excellence, it just plain sucked, it made you a victim of its literary charisma and has ruined you for all other books, etc.) Attonement

6} You are a socialite with unlimited funds. This means you don't need a job, so you are free to do as you please. How do you spend your days?
Reading, going to school, traveling a little, learning how to farm
7} What, to you, denotes truly bad taste?
Trashy teen vampire romance novels (ahem, ahem--although I am probably offending half of the internet community with those five words)
8} What is the height of sophistication?
Intelligence
Lastly, what is your friending policy? (i.e. is your journal f-locked)My journal is not blocked to anyone.

we discuss settings and supporting characters and their effect on the overall mood of a story

Ooh, that sounds like a lovely conversation. I get the feeling that Jane had real affection for her crazy supporting characters, like Miss Bates or Mr. Woodhouse. They all have something important to contribute to the world of her novels.

Trashy teen vampire romance novels

Bwahahaha! Whatever could you be referring to? ;)

1} You are the Queen of England. What do you keep in your Royal Handbag?
Lipstick of course. A cell phone, mints. A compact. I'd probably also carry a small hairbrush and everything would have to be antique and made of silver. OH and tampons. Nothing would be more humiliating to the Queen than forgetting her lady things.

b<>2} Let's play the political version of Marry; Shag; Throw off a Cliff with Barack Obama; Tony Blair; Nicolas Sarkozy. </b>
Shag Obama.
Marry Blair.
Throw Nicolas Sarkozy off a cliff.

FYI, that was very impulsive.


3} You get to have lunch with one author, living or dead. Describe the lunch to us, in as much or as little detail as you want. (Remember this is lunch, so it can be formal or informal, long or short, inclusive of three martinis or not. What do you eat, what do you discuss, what do you wear?).

Oh goodness, that's difficult. I suppose I'd have to meet C.S. Lewis because his books have meant so much to me over the years. We'd go to tea of course and I'd feel incredibly uncomfortable at first but once we got to know each other we'd be joking around and having a good time.


4} What do you take at High Tea? What is your favorite tea? (iced tea, green tea, loose leaf tea)

Right now I'm loving iced tea with lemon and a bit of sugar, no cream.


5} Tell us about a book you wish you had *never* read. (because it wasn't up to your standards of excellence, it just plain sucked, it made you a victim of its literary charisma and has ruined you for all other books, etc.)

I read a book when I was young called "Walk Two Moons" and my goodness if I wasn't ripping out my eyeballs by the end of that book. I hated it with a passion. It was sappy and pretentious but just good enough that I kept reading thinking it was going to keep better.


6} You are a socialite with unlimited funds. This means you don't need a job, so you are free to do as you please. How do you spend your days?

I would go everywhere. I'd travel the world.

7} What, to you, denotes truly bad taste?

Kicking people when they're down.

8} What is the height of sophistication?

Having poise under the most dire of circumstances.

Lastly, what is your friending policy? (i.e. is your journal f-locked)

99.9% off my posts are f-locked just because I like to know who's reading my posts -- I don't really say anything juicy unfortunately ;)

I knew this girl in 5th grade who claimed the author of walk two moons was the best author to ever write. I was so angry at her for that, we argued all recess (I felt that Jerri Spinelli or Gail Carson Levine deserved that tite, being the fifth grader that I was). in 8th grade I finally decided I would read Walk Two Moons and another book by the same author. I can't remember which one was which, but I know I felt they were both horrible. Was Walk Two Moons about the girl whose mom died but she didn't know, or is it the one about the girl who restores a trail and lives in the woods during a summer?

Squee! This looks so fun... thanks for creating it :)

1} You are the Queen of England. What do you keep in your Royal Handbag?

A brick, of course. To fight off the crazy dogs.

2} Let's play the political version of Marry; Shag; Throw off a Cliff with Barack Obama; Tony Blair; Nicolas Sarkozy.

Hmm... can I marry AND shag Barack Obama and forget about Nicolas Sarkozy? And let's go ahead and toss Tony Blair off a cliff ;D

3} You get to have lunch with one author, living or dead. Describe the lunch to us, in as much or as little detail as you want. (Remember this is lunch, so it can be formal or informal, long or short, inclusive of three martinis or not. What do you eat, what do you discuss, what do you wear?).

I would like to have high tea with J.K. Rowling. We would wear pretty hats and eat dainty sandwiches and petit fours and drink fancy teas. I would get to ask her all the questions I've ever had about the Harry Potter series... then once that was over, we'd just talk... about writing... about being richer than the queen... about her past and her passions. Sigh. That would be heavenly.

4} What do you take at High Tea? What is your favorite tea? (iced tea, green tea, loose leaf tea)

Hahahahaha I totally didn't see this question when I answered the previous question! I've only been to a couple of tea parties... one time, my friend, Terri, made these excellent shortbread cookies... she actually used pre-made shortbread cookies that had a little bit of a "dip" in them, perfect for loading up with frosting. She made a cream cheese mixture with cranberries and sugar and spread that on all of them.... sooooo divine. We also had mini sandwiches and I made some sort of appetizer, I think. My favorite teas are bagged tea... Celestial Seasonings Chocolate Chai or Gingerbread.

5} Tell us about a book you wish you had *never* read. (because it wasn't up to your standards of excellence, it just plain sucked, it made you a victim of its literary charisma and has ruined you for all other books, etc.)

I wish I hadn't bothered trying to read Tolkien so many times... he just isn't for me.

6} You are a socialite with unlimited funds. This means you don't need a job, so you are free to do as you please. How do you spend your days?

Okay, so after I build my perfect house, I would divide my time between crafting (in my perfect craft room), cooking/baking (learning new things to make and delivering food to all the people I like), writing the next great American novel (or at least finishing one of my short stories), reading all the books in my collection and catching up on all the TV shows I've missed while working full time, and then I'd probably take a bunch of trips to all the countries I want to visit. After all that is done? I'd finally open the ice cream store/candy store that I want to run with my mom. Oh, and I'd really get into running the ghost hunting group that my friends and I sort of half-assedly run these days.

7} What, to you, denotes truly bad taste?

This is actually a really tough one for me to figure out how to answer... I think it's truly bad taste when people loudly criticize anyone else's interests, whether they are "stupid" or not.

8} What is the height of sophistication?

I have this co-worker who has worked really hard to make her house exactly how she wants it... she has leather couches and hardwood floors and tiled bathrooms... and she has matching plates in her beautifully done cupboards. She's managed to get all this done, a little at a time, over the decades, until it's finally how she wants it. To me, her house, in its prisitine simplicity, is so sophisticated and perfect.

Lastly, what is your friending policy? (i.e. is your journal f-locked)

My LJ is friends' only... and to be honest, I don't update a lot these days because I've been sucked into Facebook... but I love having new journals to read and I like to interact through comments, so I hope that won't keep people from friending me. Oh, and if anyone's interested, I'm also looking for more Facebook friends (http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=691962218&ref=profile) and Twitter friends (http://twitter.com/hogwartswitch).

A brick, of course

BWAHAHAHA! That's the best answer yet. If we weren't already friends, I'd friend you just for that. =D

Queen of England. What do you keep in your Royal Handbag?</b> HM. I would have more than one handbag, so it would be the royal Handbags - with my royal Blackberry, my Royal Wallet with a shiny credit card, and of course the Royal Shade of Lipgloss + Powder + deodarant for my Excellent Royal Person. (okay. i'll shut up now.)



2} Let's play the political version of Marry; Shag; Throw off a Cliff with Barack Obama; Tony Blair; Nicolas Sarkozy.
This is actually harder than I first expected. What is even sadder is how much serious thought I am giving this.
Marry - Obama. He's hot for a guy my dad's age, he's intelligent and he seems genuinely sweet.
Shag - Blair. I was all set to marry him (he's english) but then I remembered how angry I was at some of his political decisions...
Cliff - SARKOZY. EW.



3} You get to have lunch with one author, living or dead. Describe the lunch to us, in as much or as little detail as you want. (Remember this is lunch, so it can be formal or informal, long or short, inclusive of three martinis or not. What do you eat, what do you discuss, what do you wear?).
What do I wear? Something stylish. NEW SHINY BOOTS I am yet to buy, with a shiny jacket I wish I could afford, and one of the pretty scarves lying in my closet because I can never use them in Australian weather.
My author would be... can I say the Bronte sisters? They've written such exquisitely passionate books - I just want to know how they came up with characters like Heathcliff (who is a total ass, don't get me wrong) when they lived such secluded lives. And then we can get drunk and chat about anything and everything. :)



4} What do you take at High Tea? What is your favorite tea? (iced tea, green tea, loose leaf tea) I can't say I've ever had High Tea. I would normally take milo (hee, i am such a juvenile) or loose leaf tea, which can be delicious.



5} Tell us about a book you wish you had *never* read. (because it wasn't up to your standards of excellence, it just plain sucked, it made you a victim of its literary charisma and has ruined you for all other books, etc.)
The Alchemist by Paul Coelho. A WASTE OF MY TIME. It was... awfully awful. But what annoys me so much is that so many people like it for its ~messages~, when really... ARGH. I CAN'T EVEN TYPE ABOUT IT I HATE IT THAT MUCH.



6} You are a socialite with unlimited funds. This means you don't need a job, so you are free to do as you please. How do you spend your days?
Travelling. I would want to go everywhere. I would also probably do something along the lines of Melinda Gates as well and set up a foundation with these so-called unlimited funds... because I can't see myself frittering my life away. I would feel so ashamed of myself.



7} What, to you, denotes truly bad taste?
If you feel happy and comfortable in what you are wearing, mostly you can pull it off and I won't call it bad taste. But when you just look like you are trying way too hard...

8} What is the height of sophistication? Can Audrey Hepburn be a 'what'? Because she was, to me. Beautiful and elegant and yet a wonderful person too. :)
*fangirls*


Lastly, what is your friending policy? (i.e. is your journal f-locked)
F-locked. :P

Hi!

Ok. The Alchemist. I've kept trying to get into it because I hear nothing but good things about it, but I've never been able to continue past the first few pages. I thought there was something wrong with me, because it's such a universally praised book. I'm so glad to finally hear someone who isn't just obsessing over it, but who has a real opinion on it!

Love your Royal Handbag plan, and love that you'd go out with the Bronte sisters! They could use a fun afternoon, I think. :)

1} You are the Queen of England. What do you keep in your Royal Handbag?

day planner, Cell phone, Chapstick… Things I’d need I suppose.
2} Let's play the political version of Marry; Shag; Throw off a Cliff with Barack Obama; Tony Blair; Nicolas Sarkozy.

I’d Marry Barack, Shag Tony and Cliff Sarkozy.
3} You get to have lunch with one author, living or dead. Describe the lunch to us, in as much or as little detail as you want. (Remember this is lunch, so it can be formal or informal, long or short, inclusive of three martinis or not. What do you eat, what do you discuss, what do you wear?).

Odd as it sounds I’d have to have lunch with Max Brooks. We’d go somewhere informal but nice and lose track of time talking about everything until its dinner and we have to order again.
4} What do you take at High Tea? What is your favorite tea? (iced tea, green tea, loose leaf tea)

Earl grey or black, no milk, 1 sugar.
5} Tell us about a book you wish you had *never* read. (because it wasn't up to your standards of excellence, it just plain sucked, it made you a victim of its literary charisma and has ruined you for all other books, etc.)

I can’t really bring myself to regret reading any books but I did feel like Lord Of The Flies was a total waste of my time.
6} You are a socialite with unlimited funds. This means you don't need a job, so you are free to do as you please. How do you spend your days?

Learning, traveling, reading, Mostly just seeing the world and having experiences.
7} What, to you, denotes truly bad taste?

Snap judgments, disrespect, arrogance, basically being mean.
8} What is the height of sophistication?

Doing a job well and being proud of your work no matter if it’s scrubbing toilets or painting masterpieces.
Lastly, what is your friending policy? (i.e. is your journal f-locked) Mostly Friends-locked.

Doing a job well and being proud of your work no matter if it’s scrubbing toilets or painting masterpieces.

This is a wonderful answer!

1} You are the Queen of England. What do you keep in your Royal Handbag?

chanel lipgloss, iphone filled with an embarassing amount of europop, keys to la cuve, et bien sur, something sensational to read.

2} Let's play the political version of Marry; Shag; Throw off a Cliff with Barack Obama; Tony Blair; Nicolas Sarkozy.

Marry: Sarko. hello french nationality (aka MY DREAM)
Shag: Obama. delicious (also that's embarassing)
Throw off a cliff: sorry Blair. i just didn't want to marry or shag you.

3} You get to have lunch with one author, living or dead. Describe the lunch to us, in as much or as little detail as you want. (Remember this is lunch, so it can be formal or informal, long or short, inclusive of three martinis or not. What do you eat, what do you discuss, what do you wear?).
CS Lewis. i think we would have a LOT to talk about over a simple italian lunch.

4} What do you take at High Tea? What is your favorite tea? (iced tea, green tea, loose leaf tea)

Thé: Noël à Provence (black tea with hints of lavender and citrus), with cucumber sandwiches. maybe a two bite scone. (yes whole foods plays a critical role in my ideal world)

5} Tell us about a book you wish you had *never* read. (because it wasn't up to your standards of excellence, it just plain sucked, it made you a victim of its literary charisma and has ruined you for all other books, etc.)

i have not yet encountered such a book. but i can be a book snob if called upon.

6} You are a socialite with unlimited funds. This means you don't need a job, so you are free to do as you please. How do you spend your days?

i'll split my time traveling the world and living it up and accumulating an obscene amount of post grad degrees WITH volunteering in third world countries. i am dead serious.

7} What, to you, denotes truly bad taste?

true indiscretion, aka bright pink juicy jumpsuits, obvious fake tans, loud, nasty nails, rude.

8} What is the height of sophistication?

drinking mimosas at sunday brunch wearing your favorite designer, discussing literature and world politics.

Lastly, what is your friending policy? (i.e. is your journal f-locked) i'm friends only, but open to new friends!

bright pink juicy jumpsuits, obvious fake tans, loud, nasty nails, rude.

Yuck.

1} You are the Queen of England. What do you keep in your Royal Handbag?
My Royal lipstick and possibly a Royal iPhone so I can be up on what all those kids think is so great these days
2} Let's play the political version of Marry; Shag; Throw off a Cliff with Barack Obama; Tony Blair; Nicolas Sarkozy.

Marry: Barak Obama, c'mon, he's Obama!
Shag: Tony Blair, he's British therefore automatically shag-worthy
Toss: Nicolas Sarkozy, sorry Nicolas
3} You get to have lunch with one author, living or dead. Describe the lunch to us, in as much or as little detail as you want. (Remember this is lunch, so it can be formal or informal, long or short, inclusive of three martinis or not. What do you eat, what do you discuss, what do you wear?).
Only one? Bloody hell! I'd have lunch with Jane Austen and try to make it as formal as possible, as this is what she would be used to for a lunch. I would probably go to an upscale restaurant, though I can't settle on one right now as I type. I would want her to be comfortable with the meal more than anything.
4} What do you take at High Tea? What is your favorite tea? (iced tea, green tea, loose leaf tea)
My favorite tea is English Breakfast, so stronger black tea, with a little sugar and no milk. I like to have something sweet with my tea as well, so some cookies or biscuits would suffice.
5} Tell us about a book you wish you had *never* read. (because it wasn't up to your standards of excellence, it just plain sucked, it made you a victim of its literary charisma and has ruined you for all other books, etc.)
How about a book I literally couldn't bring myself to finish: Gilead. I don't mean to judge Nobel Prize winners or anything (who am I?), but that book was impossible to read. It was so boring. It had absolutely not fire. No spark. No passion. It was as dull and dry as the dust that Robinson kept writing about for pages at a time.
6} You are a socialite with unlimited funds. This means you don't need a job, so you are free to do as you please. How do you spend your days?
Sleeping late, traveling the circut of the Grand Tour, shopping, lunching with my socialite friends, spending lots of time with my boyfriend (who also would be taken care of since I have unlimited funds), going to dinner at trendy restaurants, occasionally going to interesting events just to be seen
7} What, to you, denotes truly bad taste?
Childishness and disrespect, and poorly put together outfits
8} What is the height of sophistication?
Being comfortable enough with youself to pull off any outfit, diamonds or jeans
Lastly, what is your friending policy? (i.e. is your journal f-locked)Completely f-locked

I love the Royal iPhone! Perfect.

poorly put together outfits

This is why we are friends. I so agree. ;)

Also, your lunch with Jane sounds adorable!

1} You are the Queen of England. What do you keep in your Royal Handbag?
An exotic animal like and Ocelot. It would have to be a pretty bog bag.
2} Let's play the political version of Marry; Shag; Throw off a Cliff with Barack Obama; Tony Blair; Nicolas Sarkozy.
Marry Nicolas (only because I don't want to tear Barack and Michelle apart.) Shag Barack (they'd work through it) Throw Tony Blair off the cliff... onto some spikes.
3} You get to have lunch with one author, living or dead. Describe the lunch to us, in as much or as little detail as you want. (Remember this is lunch, so it can be formal or informal, long or short, inclusive of three martinis or not. What do you eat, what do you discuss, what do you wear?).
Rilke and I have a picnic under the stars with little tea sandwiches and milky green tea. He writes impromptu poems about me and recites them completely in German which I magically understand. He gives me advice on where to take my writing career. We are both wearing white. He's wearing a suit and I'm wearing a billowy tea dress with eyelets and lace. I show him some poems and he suggests edits, making them perfect and leading to my publication in several prominent journals. After he disappears into the stars, scholars find a new, previously unpublished poem by Rilke. It's the poem about me! Magic!
4} What do you take at High Tea? What is your favorite tea? (iced tea, green tea, loose leaf tea)
Ooh, I was just talking about tea! I have fallen in love with this milky green tea someone left at my house after a dinner party.
5} Tell us about a book you wish you had *never* read. (because it wasn't up to your standards of excellence, it just plain sucked, it made you a victim of its literary charisma and has ruined you for all other books, etc.)
Twilight. I read one chapter in the bookstore and even that was too much.
6} You are a socialite with unlimited funds. This means you don't need a job, so you are free to do as you please. How do you spend your days?
Open my own 826 Valencia in Pittsburgh. Start a literary journal. Finally get the library I've always wanted with the sliding ladder. Take the editors of all my favorite journals out to tea.
7} What, to you, denotes truly bad taste?
Unquestioning acceptance of the status-quo. Basically accepting mediocre art/clothing/writing because it is popular. (American Idol, Ugg boots, etc.)
8} What is the height of sophistication?
Having an elegant library.
Lastly, what is your friending policy? (i.e. is your journal f-locked) I am always open to new friends! Especially of the literary variety.

Unquestioning acceptance of the status-quo. Basically accepting mediocre art/clothing/writing because it is popular. (American Idol, Ugg boots, etc.)

Hahaha!

1} You are the Queen of England. What do you keep in your Royal Handbag?
Nothing. Because I would have minions to carry everything I need for me.

2} Let's play the political version of Marry; Shag; Throw off a Cliff with Barack Obama; Tony Blair; Nicolas Sarkozy.
Marry Obama: he seems like the solid, dependable sort. Shag Tony Blair: I don't even care what people think of me for this. I like Tony Blair. And Cliff Sarkozy: because even though he is French, I find him slightly repulsive for some reason.

3} You get to have lunch with one author, living or dead. Describe the lunch to us, in as much or as little detail as you want. (Remember this is lunch, so it can be formal or informal, long or short, inclusive of three martinis or not. What do you eat, what do you discuss, what do you wear?).
I would take Shakespeare to a traditional "English" pub somewhere in Central London, probably one that is named after him or one of his characters, and get him to tell me all about his contemporary London. I would tape record this meeting for scholarship purposes. Then we'd get really stupidily drunk. This isn't an cultured answer, but you *know* you would join me. Plus I think Shakespeare would be a fantastically witty drunk and know how to have a good time.

4} What do you take at High Tea? What is your favorite tea? (iced tea, green tea, loose leaf tea)
Earl Grey with milk.

5} Tell us about a book you wish you had *never* read. (because it wasn't up to your standards of excellence, it just plain sucked, it made you a victim of its literary charisma and has ruined you for all other books, etc.)
The Last Time They Met by Anita Shreve. I love her books, but this one really annoyed me, because she created such a wonderful world for her characters, and then on the very last page (and not even an exaggeration - literally the last page) she shatters the illusion of the ENTIRE book using about two sentences. Clever, but soul-destroying. Also Twilight for obvious reasons.

6} You are a socialite with unlimited funds. This means you don't need a job, so you are free to do as you please. How do you spend your days?
Shopping. Taking tea with other socialites. Convincing Michael Sheen (in a non-esperate and suavely aloof way) that I was the one he so desperately needed to spend the rest of his life with.

7} What, to you, denotes truly bad taste?
Ignorance and intolerance. And Crocs.

8} What is the height of sophistication?
Fantastic shoes, and the ability to be truly sincere.

Lastly, what is your friending policy? (i.e. is your journal f-locked)
My journal is public for the most part. I don't mind people friending me at all, but I can't always guarantee to friend back straight away.

OMG, how did I forget to mention my disdain for crocs?? UGH. I will never understand the point of those "shoes."

Convincing Michael Sheen...

Bwahahaha! Oh, MICHEAL. ♥

I would have minions to carry everything I need for me

This is why we are friends. We are so like Emma Woodhouse/Blair Waldorf. ;)

I love all your answers!

1} You are the Queen of England. What do you keep in your Royal Handbag? Tissues, lipstick, compact powder with mirror, small notebook and pen, and, of course, my mp3 player. ;)

2} Let's play the political version of Marry; Shag; Throw off a Cliff with Barack Obama; Tony Blair; Nicolas Sarkozy. Marry Obama, shag Nicolas Sarkozy (must be that dark hair), throw Tony Blair off a cliff.


3} You get to have lunch with one author, living or dead. Describe the lunch to us, in as much or as little detail as you want. (Remember this is lunch, so it can be formal or informal, long or short, inclusive of three martinis or not. What do you eat, what do you discuss, what do you wear?). Tennessee Williams, without a doubt. We meet for a simple lunch in a New Orleans diner and I wear a lovely, baby blue sun dress and stylish sandles. We discuss his works, his life, my goals as both a person and a writer and have a fair amount of laughs along the way. Later, we walk around the city, arm in arm, and speak of silly, trivial things as though they were the glue that holds us together.

4} What do you take at High Tea? What is your favorite tea? (iced tea, green tea, loose leaf tea) I must admit, I don't often take High Tea. I enjoy a nice flavored iced tea now and then but something comforting, warm, and slightly minty would be my tea of choice at High Tea.

5} Tell us about a book you wish you had *never* read. (because it wasn't up to your standards of excellence, it just plain sucked, it made you a victim of its literary charisma and has ruined you for all other books, etc.) Hmmm, this is difficult, even the books I've hated have left me with something that I didn't have before reading them. I do not, however, understand the hype of "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd. I personally found her second novel, "The Mermaid Chair", to be a deeper, more appealing read.

6} You are a socialite with unlimited funds. This means you don't need a job, so you are free to do as you please. How do you spend your days? Charity work, shopping (most likely for books, art, and what to take with me on my next vacation to whereever I feel like going), rubbing elbows with the famous and "not-so-famous but I like them anyway" crowd.


7} What, to you, denotes truly bad taste? Intolerance and the sheer refusal to think for ones self. I can deal with the tacky, the awful, and the just plain wrong clothing choices of anyone, providing their mind is beautiful.

8} What is the height of sophistication? The grace that Angelina Jolie carries herself with. She is an icon all ready and, to me, one of the last great Hollywood stars.

Lastly, what is your friending policy? (i.e. is your journal f-locked) F-locked but, if you feel we have anything in common and want to add me, I welcome new friends. :)

Edited at 2009-04-03 05:59 pm (UTC)

Tennessee Williams is SUCH a good choice.

I totally agree with you about Angelina, she does carry herself differently

Friending you!

1} You are the Queen of England. What do you keep in your Royal Handbag?
My royal handbag would be chock full of necessities like a full size gilded hand mirror (not a rinky dink compact mirror), a bottle of one-of-a-kind perfume, and various luxurious lip products. A Queen has got to look her best for her adoring public!

2} Let's play the political version of Marry; Shag; Throw off a Cliff with Barack Obama; Tony Blair; Nicolas Sarkozy.
Marry, Barack Obama, because he is tall and looks good in a suit; shag, Nicolas Sarkozy, because a French lover would totally piss off my father; throw off a cliff, Tony Blair, because he likes Bush.

3} You get to have lunch with one author, living or dead. Describe the lunch to us, in as much or as little detail as you want. (Remember this is lunch, so it can be formal or informal, long or short, inclusive of three martinis or not. What do you eat, what do you discuss, what do you wear?).
Jane Austen is an obvious answer, so I'll try to think hard...Ann Radcliffe. She was an inspiration to Jane and so many other great authors. I would love to know what inspired her!

4} What do you take at High Tea? What is your favorite tea? (iced tea, green tea, loose leaf tea)
My favorite loose leaf tea is Queen Victoria, but I also love Irish Breakfast with a bit of sugar and milk. No High Tea is complete without cucumber sandwiches and scones with jam.

5} Tell us about a book you wish you had *never* read. (because it wasn't up to your standards of excellence, it just plain sucked, it made you a victim of its literary charisma and has ruined you for all other books, etc.)
For a detective fiction class I had to read a book called Birdman by Mo Hayder. It still gives me nightmares six years later.

6} You are a socialite with unlimited funds. This means you don't need a job, so you are free to do as you please. How do you spend your days?
I spend my days reading and sipping tea! For exercise I stroll 5th Avenue. I lunch with friends, buy too many handbags, and when I tire of those activities I volunteer. I win awards for my philanthropic efforts and I am a tastemaker of the world!

7} What, to you, denotes truly bad taste?
Lack of manners is inexcusable. I believe in writing thank-you notes, holding doors open for strangers, and being courteous to everyone from CEOs to service people.

8} What is the height of sophistication?
Being yourself while being respectful of differences. Knowing who you are, going your own way, making your own way. I detest the sheep mentality. Individuality is the height of sophistication!

Lastly, what is your friending policy? (i.e. is your journal f-locked)Friends Only. Itry very hard only to be a reciprocal friend.

Adding you!

1} You are the Queen of England. What do you keep in your Royal Handbag?


Prince William's number on speed dial. Obvi, if I were queen he wouldn't be related to me. At least not in a way thats illegal to the royal family (so not cousins?)



2} Let's play the political version of Marry; Shag; Throw off a Cliff with Barack Obama; Tony Blair; Nicolas Sarkozy.


Throw Tony Blair off a cliff, marry Barack, shag Sarkozy. Because Tony Blair = whatever. barack is like the sweetest president ever. And Sarkozy is french and shags Carla Bruni. I mean duh.



3} You get to have lunch with one author, living or dead. Describe the lunch to us, in as much or as little detail as you want. (Remember this is lunch, so it can be formal or informal, long or short, inclusive of three martinis or not. What do you eat, what do you discuss, what do you wear?).


I would have lunch with Nick Hornby. If only because he seems to have a wicked sense of humor which would make a 3 hour lunch (with plenty of wine) really fun. It would be unformal and would basically include wine and whatever food. Then we'd go to the pub and proceed to get properly fucked up. Sounds pretty awesome. Also I would tot try to get him to give me Hugh Grant's number.


4} What do you take at High Tea? What is your favorite tea? (iced tea, green tea, loose leaf tea)


High tea is fine. It's a fun idea if you have hours to sit around eating little sandwiches. AKA, it works in Europe. :D I am partial to green or black tea in the little triangular bags. So cute.


5} Tell us about a book you wish you had *never* read. (because it wasn't up to your standards of excellence, it just plain sucked, it made you a victim of its literary charisma and has ruined you for all other books, etc.)


Ugh. Reading bad chick lit is always awful. PS I love you? Terrible. But truthfully, I really really disliked The Unbearable Lightness of Being. I just couldn't get into it, even when I tried for the second time in college. Maybe I just don't appreciate Milan Kundera, but it was a really hard book to enjoy. yuck.


6} You are a socialite with unlimited funds. This means you don't need a job, so you are free to do as you please. How do you spend your days?


Its pretty obvious I would jetset between NYC and paris, live in a fabulous apartment on the Seine and attend all the best runway shows and parties in every city on the planet. I mean what else would you do? Oh and I would never work full time. just part-time volunteering /etc. Or studying something not practical


7} What, to you, denotes truly bad taste?


Eating on the subway.


8} What is the height of sophistication?


The way french people can so effortlessly put themselves together. It doesn't have to be expensive, it doesn't even have to be clean (lol) but it still looks fucking perfect.


Lastly, what is your friending policy? (i.e. is your journal f-locked)

I don't really use livejournal. Shocking I know. Just hear to stalk you. :p

I love how open you are about stalking people! This is why you are meant to be Gossip Girl. :)

I so agree about Sarko. He may be despicable, but he is SEXY-DESPICABLE. Plus, he must have some redeeming qualities to keep Carla Bruni hanging around.

I won't lie, I sometimes ate on the metro when I was in a serious hurry. But I'd never eat on the NYC subway. It seems so much grosser than the metro for some reason.

I have a feeling I am going to take this way too literally.

1} You are the Queen of England. What do you keep in your Royal Handbag? Lipstick, handiwipes (fancy ones that smell pretty), cell phone, ipod.


2} Let's play the political version of Marry; Shag; Throw off a Cliff with Barack Obama; Tony Blair; Nicolas Sarkozy. None of the above. It's not cool but it's true that I am very un-politically minded. I don't want to think of any politicians in any of the above ways, it just gives me the yish.

3} You get to have lunch with one author, living or dead. Describe the lunch to us, in as much or as little detail as you want. (Remember this is lunch, so it can be formal or informal, long or short, inclusive of three martinis or not. What do you eat, what do you discuss, what do you wear?). This is hard. I love to read and I love to get lost in a different world, a lot. That being said, I wouldn't really want to get to know any of the authors I really enjoy because I feel like it would take me out of the world they create and I would get sucked into who they are as people.

So I'm going to bypass the author part and let's talk about my favorite lunch! I want to got to a little bistro that has great salads. I love a good salad, you know kind of fancy but not too fancy where I don't know what the stuff is. I would like to spend hours chatting with someone about all sorts of stuff, music, television, books. I would be wearing jeans (that are really stylish and yet still very comfortable), light sweater (most likely cable knit, I have not idea what my obsession is about) and flats. My hair would not frizz at all. After lunch we would enjoy a cup of coffee and continue to chat.


4} What do you take at High Tea? What is your favorite tea? I'm not a fan of tea. I would like to be a fan of tea but I find it much like I find tomatoes...I want to enjoy but every time I try it just tastes like dirt to me or in the case of tea really pretty dirt.

5} Tell us about a book you wish you had *never* read. (because it wasn't up to your standards of excellence, it just plain sucked, it made you a victim of its literary charisma and has ruined you for all other books, etc.) I can honestly say that I have never had that experience. Maybe I'm just super choosy about the books I actually read. I will really look into a book before I get down to actually reading it.

6} You are a socialite with unlimited funds. This means you don't need a job, so you are free to do as you please. How do you spend your days? Traveling, shopping, napping.

7} What, to you, denotes truly bad taste? Rudeness.


8} What is the height of sophistication? Being honestly comfortable in your skin and having good manners.


Lastly, what is your friending policy? (i.e. is your journal f-locked) My journal is locked. I like people and I like all kinds of different people, even if there is just one basic interest that binds us I like getting to know other folks.

I'm going to bypass the author part and let's talk about my favorite lunch

Very interesting! You're the only person to do this (so far). I don't mean that this is a bad thing though! I love just hearing about your favorite lunch.

I've been saying this a lot, but I'm really finding this "take an author to lunch" question to be the most revealing about people's personalities. Some go for very formal lunches, some just go for coffee. Everyone is different. And you opted to take yourself out to lunch! That's awesome.

1} You are the Queen of England. What do you keep in your Royal Handbag?
I'm going to pretend that if I'm the Queen then I've married Prince William. Thus, I would have a photo of him, from his younger hotter, sweater-vest wearing days, my custom-made Kate Spade planner and mints. Plus maybe an extra-set of white gloves, because you have to do those waves!

2} Let's play the political version of Marry; Shag; Throw off a Cliff with Barack Obama; Tony Blair; Nicolas Sarkozy.
Barack: I want to say marry, but I ADORE him and Michelle, so we're going to have to go with shag. But only if she's okay with it
Tony Blair: I'd shag him if we could have a long in-depth convo afterwards about the state of things in the world.
Sarkozy: Shag!!! He's so handsome, and frankly, I don't understand French politics enough to be up-in-arms about him

3} You get to have lunch with one author, living or dead. Describe the lunch to us, in as much or as little detail as you want. (Remember this is lunch, so it can be formal or informal, long or short, inclusive of three martinis or not. What do you eat, what do you discuss, what do you wear?).
I'm going to go with Edith Wharton. I'd wear a tweed skirt with a slightly ruffly top and pearls. We'd sip tea and eat little sandwiches and discuss society today vs. society when she was alive. I also would love to have an in-depth discussion about Newland Archer and Lilly Bart and really just all of her characters. She was such a great personality, and moreover she was super bad-ass getting divorced, winning a Pulitzer and really telling the truth about the society she lived in. Plus, she never finished The Buccaneers and its her happiest ending book, so I want to know if she truly wanted it to be happy, or had grown to believe in happiness in her old age.

4} What do you take at High Tea? What is your favorite tea? (iced tea, green tea, loose leaf tea)
Man I wish we had high tea. Scones and crumpets with clotted cream and blackberry jam. With iced tea in the summer

5} Tell us about a book you wish you had *never* read. (because it wasn't up to your standards of excellence, it just plain sucked, it made you a victim of its literary charisma and has ruined you for all other books, etc.)
-There are so many.I have a tendency to stop reading terrible books and just quit. But the two that I did finish were The Lovely Bones and The Fig Eater. TLB was one of those books everyone was reading but I think at least 100 pages could have been trimmed off. She basically took what could have been an excellent novella about the pain of loosing a child and turned it into this weird paranormal experience. TFE was one of those books with an amazing cover and a great mystery feel to it. The protagonist was excellent, well developed and interesting, but it seems like the plot wasn't planned. The ending was atrocious and terribly explained.

6} You are a socialite with unlimited funds. This means you don't need a job, so you are free to do as you please. How do you spend your days?
I would advocate for women's reproductive rights both here and abroad. America has such an impact on how the rest of the world both views and legalizes reproductive rights and if I can even get a thousand people to see that we are not being fair in our aid, I would feel proud. Oh I'd also design hand bags...because all socialites do that right?

7} What, to you, denotes truly bad taste?
Hypocrisy.I hate Mean Girls behavior; don't get me wrong, I did it plenty in high school, and still succumb to it sometimes now, but nothing makes me feel as ashamed as talking about someone behind their back. Its classless.

8} What is the height of sophistication?
Confidence. I think that its all about rocking it. Oh and wearing pants. LEGGINGS ARE NOT PANTS! And well-read.I think smart, covered-up and wiling to go with the flow are what makes someone sophisticated.

Lastly, what is your friending policy? (i.e. is your journal f-locked)

My journal is f-locked, but seriously, let me know you are friending me and 9 times out of 10, I will friend you back!


Edited at 2009-04-03 09:03 pm (UTC)

Edith Wharton!! Love, love, love that answer. That would be the most fab lunch. You would have to tell her how Gossip Girl referenced her. LOL.

I would advocate for women's reproductive rights both here and abroad.

Gaaah! Best answer! I would contribute to your campaigning and efforts. That one rally we went to where Hillary spoke was awesome. The US definitely needs more of that.

And, obviously, I would buy one of your designer handbags too.

1} You are the Queen of England. What do you keep in your Royal Handbag?
Sunglasses. It's a must, you leave your house early in the day and then boom, come noon it's insanely bright. So sunglasses.

2} Let's play the political version of Marry; Shag; Throw off a Cliff with Barack Obama; Tony Blair; Nicolas Sarkozy.

Marry: Barack Obama, no reason needed ;)
Shag: Sarkozy, Carla must be having some wild sex to be with the guy.
Throw: Blair.


3} You get to have lunch with one author, living or dead. Describe the lunch to us, in as much or as little detail as you want. (Remember this is lunch, so it can be formal or informal, long or short, inclusive of three martinis or not. What do you eat, what do you discuss, what do you wear?).

I would send a personal invitation to J.R.R Tolkien inviting him to this neat little cafe near my campus. We would order typical English tea and crumpets. We would discuss his work, the curse of Twilight and how to make Peter Jackson agree to direct The Hobbit.

4} What do you take at High Tea? What is your favorite tea? (iced tea, green tea, loose leaf tea)

I like to eat half a scone with jam and regular tea. Little milk, 2 sugars, it has to be rich.

5} Tell us about a book you wish you had *never* read. (because it wasn't up to your standards of excellence, it just plain sucked, it made you a victim of its literary charisma and has ruined you for all other books, etc.)

Although I love the past work of Douglas Coupland, I wish I had never read J-Pod. It felt forced, un-natural and the characters I wanted to squeeze their necks. I couldn't even get past the third chapter, which is strange considering how much I love Microserfs. Awful Jpod, awful, awful.

6} You are a socialite with unlimited funds. This means you don't need a job, so you are free to do as you please. How do you spend your days?

I would travel, shop and would do any kind of sport like experience. Diving in the Galapagos islands, bungee jumping off the tallest cliff, hiking etc etc.

7} What, to you, denotes truly bad taste?

Poor manners. If you can't even manage a please and thank you, well that to me is just disgusting.

8} What is the height of sophistication?

An Estate, in the south of England - perhaps within Hampshire. I've seen beautiful homes around that borough.

Lastly, what is your friending policy? (i.e. is your journal f-locked)

F-locked, but I love getting to know new people.

Ah, your lunch with Tolkein sounds delightful. :)

I'm stalking everyone's answers to the lunch question--it's so fun to see which authors people are interested in inviting. Everyone has different their different reasons and a different lunching style.

And I definitely agree that an English estate is the epitome of sophistication. It's hard to outdo that.

1} You are the Queen of England. What do you keep in your Royal Handbag?
The same things that I have in my handbag right now, I guess... They would just probably be much more expensive ;)

2} Let's play the political version of Marry; Shag; Throw off a Cliff with Barack Obama; Tony Blair; Nicolas Sarkozy.
Marry; Obama.
Shag; Sarkozy.
Cliff; Blair.

3} You get to have lunch with one author, living or dead. Describe the lunch to us, in as much or as little detail as you want. (Remember this is lunch, so it can be formal or informal, long or short, inclusive of three martinis or not. What do you eat, what do you discuss, what do you wear?).
I can't decide! It would be either Jane Austen, J.K. Rowling or J.R.R. Tolkien. Probably J.K. Rowling because without her, I probably wouldn't be in fandom right now, where I spend most of my time :P We would, um... I'd take her to my favourite pizzeria; so nothing too formal. Then I'd probably ask her millions of questions and would introduce her to HP slash fanfics XD

4} What do you take at High Tea? What is your favorite tea? (iced tea, green tea, loose leaf tea)
I like black tea, iced tea, green tea... I'm not picky. I like trying new things :)

5} Tell us about a book you wish you had *never* read. (because it wasn't up to your standards of excellence, it just plain sucked, it made you a victim of its literary charisma and has ruined you for all other books, etc.)
Un Amour de Swann by Proust. It was a waste of time, in my opinion. A close second is Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. I read both at school and it was just pure torture to read them; and I usually never complain about reading.

6} You are a socialite with unlimited funds. This means you don't need a job, so you are free to do as you please. How do you spend your days?
To be honest, my life would probably not be much different. If I didn't have to get a job, I would study a lot. There are so many different subjects I'd be interested in, and I hate having to pick only one or two. So I'd just study a lot. I'd also spend a lot of time travelling and visiting different countries and cities and museums, etc. Oh, and I'd sleep. A lot XD And read. And write.

7} What, to you, denotes truly bad taste?
Intolerance, always having to be the centre of attention, wearing revealing clothes when you're not exactly thin, rudeness...

8} What is the height of sophistication?
I saw someone mention Audrey Hepburn and I'd have to second that. She was just beautiful, elegant, classy, talented, nice, intelligent...

Lastly, what is your friending policy? (i.e. is your journal f-locked)
Fandom talk, fanfiction and fanart (all Harry Potter; just to warn you) is all unlocked. Personal stuff is locked :)

J.K. Rowling! Speaking of Queens, she is a Queen herself. I feel like she'd be a good person to just chill out with and eat pizza. She seems so friendly.

And, LOL, I'd pay money to see her reaction to SlashFic!

1} You are the Queen of England. What do you keep in your Royal Handbag?
Whatever I'm currently reading; I don't like to buy handbags that can't fit at least a medium-sized paperback inside. Also pencils, a small notebook (for my royal doodlings), and my kickass iPod.

2} Let's play the political version of Marry; Shag; Throw off a Cliff with Barack Obama; Tony Blair; Nicolas Sarkozy.
Hah, no Godron Brown? XD I suppose I'd marry Barack because he's intelligent and seems to have kindness and integrity. The other two I really am not inclined to do anything with. Although, I would certainly shag Ioan Gruffudd, who played Blair in the movie W. But I suppose that doesn't count.

3} You get to have lunch with one author, living or dead. Describe the lunch to us, in as much or as little detail as you want. (Remember this is lunch, so it can be formal or informal, long or short, inclusive of three martinis or not. What do you eat, what do you discuss, what do you wear?).
The first person that comes to mind is Neil Gaiman. He's not my #1 favorite author of all time, but he seems like a very interesting person who would be easy to get along with and great fun to talk to. I think we'd talk about mythology, fantasy literature, science, religion, and pets, among other things. I would also want to pick his brains in general, because he has one hell of an imagination. As for what we'd eat... Anything tasty, in an informal sort of setting. Oooh, or a picnic in a suitably odd urban location...

4} What do you take at High Tea? What is your favorite tea? (iced tea, green tea, loose leaf tea)
I love tea! My current favorite is Bengal Spice tea with milk. I'd want to nibble something sweet, but not too sweet.

5} Tell us about a book you wish you had *never* read. (because it wasn't up to your standards of excellence, it just plain sucked, it made you a victim of its literary charisma and has ruined you for all other books, etc.)
I was going to say the entire Twilight saga except for the the first book, but eh, it was one of those things that's so bad that it's hard to regret. And it's good to at least know what the fuss is about, right? I'll say Closing Time, by Joseph Heller. It wasn't OMG HORRIBLE, but it was a real let-down after the spectacularity of Catch-22.

6} You are a socialite with unlimited funds. This means you don't need a job, so you are free to do as you please. How do you spend your days?
Reading most everything I could get my hands on, and building up an impressive library in the process. I'd spend the rest of my time playing the piano, playing with my dogs, drawing, writing, and learning stuff. I would also donate money and do charity work for causes that are important to me, and maybe start an animal sanctuary.

7} What, to you, denotes truly bad taste?
Being a sheep and not thinking for yourself. Bigotry and willful ignorance don't help either.

8} What is the height of sophistication?
Confidence and competence, but tempered with humility, open-mindedness, and consideration for others.

Lastly, what is your friending policy? (i.e. is your journal f-locked) It is friends-locked, except for fandom things (fanfic, picspams, the occasional fanvid).

Edited at 2009-04-03 11:04 pm (UTC)

Ha, I didn't include poor Gordon Brown because I was afraid everyone would just throw him off the cliff! It doesn't seem like Tony Blair is faring that much better though. And, don't worry, I'd shag Michael Sheen's Tony Blair, so your Ioan!Tony Blair definitely counts. ;)

Neil Gaiman is a great choice for the "take an author to lunch." He seems really friendly and outgoing, so you know you wouldn't have a dull lunch!

Would you mind if I friended you?

1} You are the Queen of England. What do you keep in your Royal Handbag? I would probably still keep my usual purse things in my bag (cell phone, ipod, wallet, a novel), but I would have to have something jewel-encrusted just because.

2} Let's play the political version of Marry; Shag; Throw off a Cliff with Barack Obama; Tony Blair; Nicolas Sarkozy. Marry: Barack Obama, Shag: Nicolas Sarkozy, Throw Off a Cliff: Tony Blair.

3} You get to have lunch with one author, living or dead. Describe the lunch to us, in as much or as little detail as you want. (Remember this is lunch, so it can be formal or informal, long or short, inclusive of three martinis or not. What do you eat, what do you discuss, what do you wear?). This one is difficult. I am tempted to say a lovely afternoon lunch with Jane Austen for sentimental reasons, but I think I will actually go with Terry Pratchett. I think we would go to a pub (one with good nibblies - a blooming onion would be delish). He would be interesting to talking to not only about his books, but about other philosophical topics as well. Plus, he's hilarious. We'd probably end up drunk and mocking people relentlessly by early evening.

4} What do you take at High Tea? What is your favorite tea? (iced tea, green tea, loose leaf tea) I am actually not a tea-drinker, or much of a hot beverage drinker for that matter (I don't drink coffee either). I LOVE iced tea though.

5} Tell us about a book you wish you had *never* read. (because it wasn't up to your standards of excellence, it just plain sucked, it made you a victim of its literary charisma and has ruined you for all other books, etc.) Heart of Darkness, forever and always. I had to read this novel three times during my undergraduate degree for three different English courses. I wanted to kill myself each and every time. It is quite simply the longest shortest book I have ever had the displeasure of slogging through. The prose was like molasses. I got the message, I just found it painful to read.

6} You are a socialite with unlimited funds. This means you don't need a job, so you are free to do as you please. How do you spend your days? I would really like to be able to pursue crafty and artsy-fartsy type things, because right now I don't have the time or funds to do it. I would probably take classes, visit galleries and museums, go to openings, etc. I would also probably have a daily massage, because that would be heavenly.

7} What, to you, denotes truly bad taste? Crocs. Ok, I should probably expand on that answer. Visual appeal is a very subjective thing, but I think blatant vulgarity is almost always distasteful, at least in terms of dress and how one behaves in public (i.e. letting one's girly bits hang out for all the world to see, drinking until you fall down in a pool of your own vomit, etc.). Also, and this is probably an obvious answer, any sort of prejudice or hatefulness is very distasteful to me.

8} What is the height of sophistication? I think self-confidence in the way you carry yourself and act in your daily life is being sophisticated. There is no book or film or restaurant or designer handbag that defines sophistication.

But maybe I am just saying that because I love a lot of things that other people would deem unsophisticated but I have no shame.

Lastly, what is your friending policy? (i.e. is your journal f-locked) Friends-locked except for some picspams. I am pretty open to adding people if we have things in common. I prefer 18+, but I am willing to make exceptions if we share a lot of interests and the person is mature.

Edited at 2009-04-04 12:53 am (UTC)

Somewhere between the Pratchett and the Crocs I was compelled to friend you. Is this copacetic?