Alex's This and That

21) What about LJ/DW keeps you coming back (or never leaving)? (Because let's be honest, this place is old, BUT WE ALL LOVE IT ANYWAY.)

What's WRONG with OLD? Seriously!? I don't do LJ much because reasons, but I like DW just as much. I can be me here and have to be someone else at Facebook. This is fandom home for me. I don't get the reblog culture of twitter, tumblr and pillowfort.



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19) List FIVE of your TEN BEST things!
I'm not even sure what this means. Stuff? Traits?
Traits:
Inquisitive
Skeptical
Stubborn
Loyal
Loving
(also sarcastic, intelligent, persistent, rebellious, semi-organized)

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17) What movie, book, or TV episode makes you cry without fail? (Or get wibbly, if you're not a crier.)

Babylon 5's last episode Sleeping in Light


My 16 year old went out for a Sunday drive and never came back, just like John Sheridan.


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14) We're on a roll with the holiday stuff. So… what's your favorite holiday movie or TV episode?
I love any version of Dickens' A Christmas Carol - but my favorite is Mr. Magoo's Christma Carol from 1962.



and the song We're Despicable is my favorite:


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12) The holidays are coming. Which means good food. Share a recipe for a dish you love to enjoy during the Christmas season. (So we can enjoy it too!)

Porcupine Meatballs

1 ½ lbs. ground beef
½ c. cooked rice (I use Minute Rice)
1 tsp. Salt
½ tsp. Black pepper
1 medium onion, chopped fine
1 smallish green pepper, diced fine
1 cup tomato paste (I use the 6 oz. can since that’s the size it comes in. You can use a little more if you like.)
I medium sized can tomatoes or tomato juice (12 oz.)

Cook rice and set aside to cool first. Mix the first seven ingredients together. Shape into medium to large sized meatballs and place in heavy skillet. Cover with the canned tomatoes or tomato juice and cook over low to medium low for about 45 minutes. I suppose you could cook the meatballs first in oil then simmer them, after they're done. They do tend to fall apart so handle them very gently. Maybe a little egg mixed in would help bind them.

This is my mother’s recipe and she took Porcupine Balls to our family Christmas dinners on her side of the family for as long as I can remember.

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10) Write about your first fandom crush(es). Post a picture of them if you can.
My first- first fandom crush was Chekov when I was about 6 or 7 in the 60s! I loved the show and watched it with my dad every week.


I guess the biggest ones are Luke and Han (from 1977). I fell for the pretty blond Luke when I laid eyes on him. I wanted to be Leia (I still do). and Han was, well, Han.


and Legolas. I think I loved Legolas before I ever saw him. I loved him when I read the books back in the 70s. He was the first one there was fanfic about, I think.


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8) Okay. Let's be real. We all have lives outside of LJ/DW. What else are you obsessed with, love to do, or particularly good at, that most bloggers don't know about?

I can't actually think of anything. I'm obsessed with writing. Otherwise I'm a dabbler. I can quilt but seldom do it. I can paint but lost my muse when Sara died. I love books and reading but I don't even do that like I once did. Two things I love to do that take no skill but give me great joy are reading poetry and going to art museums.

Though I have never written poetry, I can't get enough of it. I am particularly fond of classic poetry but I also like some modern poets. That was always my favorite part of English class and I can sit and read it for hours.

Art Museums are like walking through heaven on Earth. MY earliest trip was one to the North Carolina Museum of Art in 7th grade. We went in and almost immediately,
we went out again. Larry took us to New York in the 90s and we went to the Moma - omg! Starry Night was the first thing I saw and I cried at its beauty. Then the rest - wow. We also lucked out to be there for the first day of an exhibit of Dr Gachet: The Collection of Dr. Gachet. We've been the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam, the Rijksmuseum there as well. We also have visited several in Munich, Berlin and Essen, Germany! As you see, I particularly love Van Gogh.

The Yellow House


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4) What was your first fandom love(s)? Your first ship(s)?

I never knew there WERE fandoms until around 2000 when I got on the internet. I discovered the LOTR movies and Legolas and there I was. I had always loved Tolkien and the movies were just so beautiful - meaning Legolas was beautiful.

I suppose that my first ship Aragorn and Legolas. When I got in fandom, I don't remember so much shippiness. That seemed to come into vogue with tumblr.

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