Rivka-pretends-she's-well-rounded meme V.

[rivka]

The "favorites" edition...

vom_marlowe: We're due a snowstorm here. I was thinking of that time we went to the ski cabin, and had a Finnish sauna. Do you remember that? That was sooooo much fun. It's one of my favorite memories.

What's a favorite memory of back then?

I do remember that. All my ski cabin memories are really happy. I wonder if the ski cabin is still like it always was, and if they still keep it unlocked so that I could go there if I wanted to. (I remember the directions.)

I really loved the Reed formals. I loved the way everyone got so dressed up, by whatever definition they personally had for "dressed up," and the way the majority of the clothes were obviously from secondhand stores. I had a perfectly amazing formal dress, rich black velvet with a wide band of dangling jet beads at the neckline. It made me feel gorgeous. The formals I remember best had fantastic swing/jazz music. I love dancing to that. And at formals I always felt like I could walk up to people and ask them to dance. (That was probably all those bottles of vodka they kept stashed under the tables so that the bars could clearly be seen to be serving just juices and sodas.)

fairoriana: Which other countries in the world do you feel the most association to? Why?

I don't really feel personal connections to other countries, although I have fond memories of Scotland (where Michael and I honeymooned) and Wales (where I went with my sister), because in both places I had a wonderful time and the locals were incredibly nice to us. I have a little faint intellectual interest in where my ancestors came from, but it doesn't make me feel connected to those places. I'm an assimilated American, the third generation born in the U.S.; the "old country" doesn't have much meaning for me.

There are plenty of countries that I'm interested in and would like to visit, but I think that's a different question.

marykaykare: What's your favorite piece of jewelry? What do you look for/attracts you most about pieces you buy?

I wear very little jewelry. I have a couple of Elise Matthesen necklaces - I couldn't say what drew me to them, because they just reached out and grabbed me in a process that was entirely emotional; it bypassed my reasoning mind.

I will say, however, that I'm coming up on ten years of marriage and I have still never seen a ring prettier than my engagement ring.

patgreene: What's your all-time favorite movie, and why?

Casablanca. Because it's so beautifully filmed, and because it's such an incredible cornerstone of our culture, and because it's so well-acted that even when I should be rolling my eyes, I don't.

guruwench: If you've watched any of the Muppets, who's your favourite, and why?

I like Beaker best. Doesn't everyone?

chargirlgenius: What's your favorite section of the Walters? What kind of art really speaks to you?

My favorite section is the Chamber of Wonders, the recreation of a 17th century nobleman's private house museum. I love the way art and natural history pieces and artifacts are jumbled together. Plus it reminds me of a very strange book I enjoyed, Mr. Wilson's Cabinet of Wonder.

I am pretty ignorant about art. My personal tastes run towards outsider art, the kind of thing that's exhibited at the American Visionary Art Museum. And I saw a truly amazing exhibit of trompe l'oeil paintings at the National Gallery a few years ago, which I still remember vividly. But for the most part I would rather go to a history, science, or natural history museum than an art museum.

Comments

[davidlevine]

I didn't know you were a Reedie!

(I'm not one myself, though I've been to that ski cabin...)

[rivka.livejournal.com]

Yep, I'm Reed class of '94. That's why we know so many people in common.

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

"Zoot, mama! Zoot!" So sayeth my not quite 2 year old, who could name all the muppets from the Muppet Show poster tacked up in his room. We bought it for a dollar from the back of the Cheerios box. Kinda wish we still had it: he'd love that.

The question of assimilation and original culture always interests me. The people I know whose grandparents were all born abroad also have no particular connection to the old country that I am aware of. I am trying to think of anyone I know with recent immigrants in their family tree who *does* have that connection, and what they might be doing to maintain it.

And what will that mean to the immigrants who are moving here today?

K.

hmmm--not sure what this says about me

[lcohen]

my favorite muppets are statler and waldorf.

Re: hmmm--not sure what this says about me

[minnaleigh.livejournal.com]

Me too!

[kateyule.livejournal.com]

Perhaps in reaction to those who proudly wear "authentic clan tartan" kilts, ties, underwear...I never thought I was interested in Where My People Came From. Until I went there, and stood on the street where my great-grandfather lived. Saw people who looked like me, phone books with pages and pages of Yules (at home I have never ever met one who wasn't immediate family), had a pint in a pub that was probably there when he left for America. That struck home.