Meme of three

I intensely dislike the word meme – it’s a pretentious alternative to idea as far as I can see, invented to make some people feel clever, and to spawn other pretentious words like “memepool”. Rant over – I was tagged by Jax, and I thought I’d do what I normally (OK, I’ve only done one other) do with these spread-the-love things: grudgingly do it, find it’s quite useful for me and then not pass it on. I started this ages ago, forgot about it, and now I want it done so I can properly forget about it.

1.Things that scare me:

• George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld et al.
• Government unquestioning belief in IT as panacea, such as in the ID card scheme in the UK.
• Global warming.

2. People who make me laugh:

• Katy.
• My children.
• Robin Williams.

3. Things I hate the most:

• The stupidity and hence skewed priorities of the current US government, and their supporters.
• My own failings.
• Halva – I think I’d rather eat Oasis, which it resembles.

4. Things I don’t understand:

• Bridge (the card game).
• The attraction of golf.
• Japanese.

5. Things I’m doing right now:

• Listening to music thrown at me randomly by my computer.
• Err, typing this.
• Lots of really amazing chemistry that keeps my body functioning.

6. Things I want to do before I die:

• Finish this list.
• Live in a place where I have finished unpacking from the last time we moved.
• Lots of other things.

7. Things I can do:

• Tell a shaggy dog story involving a cute squid with a mustache.
• Tell you meaning of the word “cran”.
• Make my lower lip into two little horns and wiggle them a bit.

8. Ways to describe my personality:
This is v. hard to answer without sounding like you love yourself to bits or hate yourself. I give up!

9. Things I can’t do:

• Put my ankles behind my ears.
• Knit.
• Solve differential equations.

10. Things I think you should listen to:

• Your children (if you have any).
• Your spouse / partner (if you have one).
• God, however you interpret this. Failing that: Silence.

11. Things you should never listen to:

• People who make you feel bad in order to make themselves feel better.
• Jazz, if it’s the kind where you can’t tell if they’re playing the right notes or not.
• That impulse to buy a pink fluffy toilet seat cover.

12. Things I’d like to learn:

• How to play the sax, drums or piano.
• How to speak German or French better.
• How to fly a plane.

13. Favourite foods:
This is a bit too MySpace for me, so no answer.

14. Beverages I drink regularly:

• Tea
• Water
• More water

15. Shows I watched as a kid:
Too many!

• Bagpuss
• Bod
• Jackanory