A Modified Proust Questionnaire

The Proust Questionnaire is a questionnaire about one's personality. Its name and modern popularity as a form of interview is owed to the responses given by the French writer Marcel Proust, who believed that people must know and understand themselves before they could know or understand others. He developed a list of subjective questions that he felt would help reveal to people their true selves and the inner personalities of those around them. A similar questionnaire is regularly seen on the back page of Vanity Fair magazine, answered by various celebrities.

In what follows I give my own answers. Why don't you try it ?

What is your idea of perfect happiness?

Perfection does not exist. In any case, we have happiness when the distance between reality and what we want  is minimized ... this distance is almost never zero.

What is your greatest fear?

Pain of any sort.

What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?

Impatience (it eventually "killed" my modest chess ambitions.)

What is the trait you most deplore in others?

Religious fanaticism, bad breath and envy.

Which living person do you most admire?

Roger Penrose.

What is your greatest extravagance?

Playing basket ball with friends and surfing the net.

What is your current state of mind?

Excited.

What do you consider the most overrated virtue?

Chastity and modesty.

On what occasion do you lie?

I don't need an occasion.

What do you dislike most about your appearance?

Not much. Perhaps my waistline.

Which living person(s) do you most despise?

Priests, politicians and dictators.

What is the quality you most like in a man?

Humour and ... balls.

What is the quality you most like in a woman?

Voluptuousness and ... balls.

Which words or phrases do you most overuse?

"Thanks a lot," "Just in case"and "not exactly rocket science."

Which talent would you most like to have?

The chess talent of Bobby Fischer and to play the alto sax well.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

The size of my ... nose.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Being unique.

If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what do you think it would be?

My blue-eyed, black cat Charlie (he died when I was 31 years old).

What is your most treasured possession?

Μy IQ.

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?

Suffering. And of course, not getting laid when you want it.

What is your favorite occupation?

I would rather be an astronomer.

What is your most marked characteristic?

My charm and curiosity.  Of course, NOT my modesty.

Who are your favorite writers?

Betrand Russel, Boris Vian, Richard Feynman, Roger Penrose, W. S. Maugham, J. Krishnamurti, Karl Popper, Plato and many others.

Who is your favorite hero of fiction?

The HAL 9000 computer in "2001: A Space Odyssey."

Which historical figure do you most identify with?

Johanne Kepler (and Icarus in Greek mythology!)

What do you most value in your friends?

Their ability to make me (and others) laugh.

Who are your heroes in real life?

There are no heroes.

What is it that you most dislike?

Religious bullshit. All kinds of -isms.

What is your greatest regret?

That I left my job in Britain and returned to Greece for a 2-year term of obligatory army service.

How would you like to die?

Alone, healthy (lol !!) and laughing.

What is your motto?

Live now, die later.

YΓ:  At your own risk, click the 2 images and the 3 links in the text !


:)

The joy of Sax

You may wonder why this post is in English. A few months ago, a fellow blogger brought to my attention that my posts were ... all Greek to her, and that the various translation software engines I suggested, were  all deplorable. That's why today I finally decided to try my ... super duper english.

Let me first introduce the extremely shy elephant in the room, as quickly as possible !

One of my dreams as a teenager was to become an alto sax player. Instead, I became a superb sax ... listener !!!  Why ? I knew that in any field, particularly  in the fine arts, fulfillment of dreams occurs only when talent coexists  with hard work and dedication. In those "teen" years my mind was permeated with the arbitrary notion, that I lacked all the aforementioned prerequisites. Furthermore, sport, chess and (later) universities occupied most of my free time, and the net result was that I never even touched the ... bloody instrument. Sometimes I wonder, not without remorse ... how can one be relatively certain of something like this, without even trying, at least once ? The situation doesn't get any better, whenever my brother - an excellent latin jazz guitarist and composer - tells me that I have a unique "musical" ear ! Sometimes I suspect  he does it just to annoy me for not playing the sax, and of course he cracks me up - quite easily - most of the time !

After this brief encounter with my peculiar elephant, you may have guessed that of all the musical instruments, my absolute choice are the "brass" ones,  saxophone being the real king of the horns. I love this instrument, because I think it approximates the human voice more closely than any of its rivals. The most observant readers  will have already realized that more than 90 %  of the songs hidden in the pictures of my posts, contain "brass" sounds.

I hope you will enjoy the following 2 poems of ... pure sax poetry:

The saxophone (Steve Patterson)  

the saxophone

moans its mournful tone

each deep, rich note
of its mournful wail
a symphony,
giving sympathy
to my mournful soul

each mellow sound
aiding my Whole
to be found

the saxophone
moans its mournful tone
its mellow moan
cuts to the bone
cuts thru'
my heart of stone

Saxophone Love (Kimberly D. Robinson) 

Friday night was Jazz Night
at the Blue Bongo Club
down on 57th Street

He started blowing about
three Fridays ago, and
his presence alone would
give one pause

Me and the girls went
every Friday night, but
that Friday was different

Between deep Tenor breaths,
he looked at me,
like I belonged to him

After the gig was over,
he asked me to stay

He seemed to know that
I wanted to feel the
stiffness of his brass horn

Alone, we talked, we danced
then he pulled out his brass
it felt so good in my hands

Cool, erect, and smooth
to my touch, he titillated me
oh so gently

I tasted and in and out
and out and in
my mouth moistened for more

He threw his head back
to partake of my...
performance and smiled

When done
we both agreed
I needed to take...
Saxophone Lessons

YΓ: Click the 4 images above to reveal ... what else? .. pure  magic! 
(Also, don't forget the 24 links in the text)

:)

Ζητείται Λογική !

Δύο σύντομα video απο έναν σπάνιο άνθρωπο, που έχει αφιερώσει τη ζωή του στην επιστημονική μελέτη  της φύσης. Τον υπέροχο David Attenborough.

To πρώτο 3λεπτο video αφορά ένα φοβερό πουλί που μιμείται τα πάντα, το Lyre Bird. Ονομάζεται έτσι επειδή όταν το αρσενικό απλώνει την φτερωτή ουρά του, μοιάζει με το μουσικό όργανο λύρα. Πολλοί το αποκαλούν και πουλί-ψεύτη ! Σ' αυτό το video μιμείται άλλα πουλιά, καθώς και τους ήχους φωτογραφικής μηχανής (με ή χωρίς μοτέρ !), συναγερμό αυτοκινήτου,  βενζινοπρίονου κλπ

Στο δεύτερο video ο David χρειάζεται μόλις 4 λεπτά για να ξετινάξει τα κάθε λογής θεϊστικά παραμυθάκια, εκθέτοντας συνοπτικά το επιστημονικά τεκμηριωμένο γεγονός της Δαρβινικής Εξέλιξης των Ειδών. Είναι απολαυστική η θέση του για το πόσο βλαπτικό  είναι το βιβλίο της Γένεσης για την ανθρώπινη συμπεριφορά προς τη φύση !

Σίγουρα έχουμε να κάνουμε με έναν  πολύ ενδιαφέροντα 84χρονο!

ΥΓ: Click στις 2 εικόνες για κάποιου είδους ... αποκαλύψεις !

:)

Fais moi mal

Στην πάνω φωτογραφία ο αξέχαστος Boris Vian με την καταπληκτική Magali Noël, γαλλίδα ηθοποιό τουρκικής καταγωγής, που ερμήνευσε το τραγούδι που ακούγεται στο παρακάτω video. Μετά το 1956, και για πάρα πολλά χρόνια,  είχε απαγορευτεί απο τα ΜΜΕ, επειδή οι στίχοι του Boris περιέγραφαν ένα σαδομαζοχιστικό επεισόδιο. Η τρομερή αίσθηση του χιούμορ που είναι διάχυτη στους στίχους, δεν έσωσε το τραγούδι απο τα νύχια της τότε  τρισάθλιας λογοκρισίας.

Το άκουγα πολύ σε ηλικία 17 - 18 ετών, ένα όμορφο καλοκαίρι στην Κέα (Τζιά). Απολαύστε το πιο κάτω,  σε ...  ελεύθερη μετάφραση ! 

Ανασηκώθηκε μόλις πλησίασα, κι όρθιος ήταν πολύ πιο κοντός

Σκέφτηκα :  "Τον έχω στο τσεπάκι μου, αυτός  ο μικρούλης είναι για το κρεβάτι μου"
 
Μου 'φτανε στον ώμο, αλλά ήταν στο σύνολο γεροδεμένος

Μ' ακολούθησε στο δωμάτιό μου, και φώναξα: "όρμα λύκε μου!"

Πόνεσέ με, Τζόνυ, ανέβασέ με στα ουράνια ...ζουμ!
πόνεσέ με, Τζόνυ, εμένα μ' αρέσει ο έρωτας που κανει μπουμ

(θα 'θελε να την πονέσει ...)

Δεν φορούσε πια παρά μόνο τις κάλτσες του, κάτι όμορφες κίτρινες με ρίγες μπλε
με κοιτούσε σαν χαζός, δεν καταλάβαινε τίποτα ο έρμος
και μου είπε απολογητικά:  "δεν θα πείραζα ούτε μύγα"
με εκνεύρισε, του άστραψα μια,  και τσίριξα με άγριο ύφος:

Πόνεσέ με, Τζόνυ, δεν είμαι μύγα εγω! ζζζζζζζζ
πόνεσέ με, Τζόνυ, μ' αρέσει ο έρωτας που κάνει μπουμ

(άντε να την πονέσεις ...)

Βλέποντας οτι δεν ερεθιζόταν, τον έβρισα άγρια, του έσουρα του κόσμου τις βρισιές
κι άλλους χαρακτηρισμούς πολύ πρωτότυπους ... αυτό άξαφνα τονε ξύπνησε και μου είπε :
"σταμάτα το παραλήρημα, με θεωρείς κακομοίρη ... τώρα θα σου δείξω τι πα να πει θρίλερ"

πόνεσέ με, Τζόνυ!
οχι με τα πόδια! .. ναιι !
πόνεσέ με,Τζόνυ!
δεν μου αρέσει ο έρωτας που κάνει μπινγκ

(την πόνεσε ...)

Ξανάβαλε το πουκαμισάκι του, το κουστούμι, τα παπουτσάκια του
και κατέβηκε τις σκάλες αφήνοντάς με, με ένα βγαλμένο ώμο

Για τέτοιου είδους υποκείμενα δεν αξίζει ο κόπος
τώρα έχω έναν πισινό γεμάτο μελανιές, και ποτέ πια δεν θα ξαναπώ:

πόνεσέ με, Τζόνυ ... στείλε με στα ουράνια ... ζουoυουμμμ
πόνεσέ με, Τζόνυ, μ' αρέσει ο έρωτας που κάνει μπουουουμ

(Ω! Τζόνυ ...)

Ω! τον παλιάνθρωπο, μπούχτισα !

YΓ: Κλικάρετε αδίστακτα τις 2 εικόνες!


:)