I figured I’d make one of those ‘ask me anything you want’ questions.
Call it a slightly late four year question thread. 
And four years is a pretty long time, it’s a fifth of my life after all!
Really though, hit me with anything, it should be fun!
I dont mean to pick your thread when I say this, but this is the biggest bandwagon ever. Every time someone does this everybody else does one as well.
Would you even use a phrase like “aspen grove” in a poem
Write a five-hundred word dissertation justifying your answer (optional)
Sorc, your question thread didn’t actually make me think of making one of these at all; it was Hades’ post about people who’ve left over the years that made me realise I’ve been here a quarter of my life. I don’t care that I’m not the oldest member, that’s still a longass time for me. It’s pretty much how long I’ve been postin’ on the internets.
Cless, I’ll answer your question later. And it’ll be glorious.
Do you actually like the Dark Tower or do you just like that picture?
Why can’t you keep your curtains open at night?
What prompted your name change a while back?
"An Unkindness of ravens.
What’s your current direction in life? What are your goals over the next year?
What’s up with Robert Browning? What remains of all these years spent on hard [strike]drugs[/strike] internetz?
Never would I use such a
phrase,
in my poetry,
as aspen gro -
THAT’S RIGHT!
For a start, the simple fact of the matter is that I know of no aspen groves in Ireland, so to make use of such as a metaphor would be meaningless to most of my (apparently existent) readership and would seem unnecessary at best and pretentious at worst. And lord knows if there’s one thing a poet hates, it’s to be thought pretentious, am I right? (Hint: I am wrong.)
Seriously though, I don’t want to be thought of as one of those poets who uses unnecessarily obscure phrases. If I were to speak of a grove of trees, I’d more likely mention Oak (if I wanted a symbol of strength, I guess); Ash (if I wanted a barren symbol, this is what comes to mind for me); Pine (if I wanted a symbol of dried out, grey people); or maybe Horse-chestnut (if I wanted a symbol for childhood, this is a pretty solid one).
I could go on with a list of trees or hell, even shrubs I might use were I to write a poem in which plant symbology featured as a prominent theme, however, the point has already been made succinctly.
It all comes back to what people write about, and people write about what they know. People can claim not to, but I’ve yet to see a novel, poem or short story that isn’t essentially just about what the people writing knew. Some are more knowledgeable about their subject matter than others - for instance, Neil Gaiman puts a lot effort into his research from what I’ve seen, whereas the impression I’ve gotten from someone like David Eddings is they wrote what they felt things should be like. There’s a reason Gaiman is a better writer, and it’s not very difficult to figure out why. He’s an author I’d certainly aspire to be as unique as - and in this case I mean unique as a high compliment.
However, there is one occasion when I would consider making use of the phrase you have so kindly given me. And that is the case where I decide to write a poem - an homage maybe, an ode of your epic deeds in fighting seriousness all throughout the vast and ever expanding planes of the internets. Boldly you ride the tubes, stopping only briefly to dissect an erroneous post, or a post too full of self importance to deflate, before returning as is your wont, to your aspen grove on your hill of dreams. Never to leave again.
I actually really love it, and need to read it yet again. But I do think the picture is really excellent, it’s one of my favorites that came with those books.
Why aren’t you on the chat to remind me to? >:(
[QUOTE=TrkJac;618041
"An Unkindness of ravens.
The name I used to have was one I chose at age 12/13, and damn does it embarrass me now. Hell, it embarrassed me when I first joined the boards, but I wanted people to try and help me with my (poorly written) FF8 fanfic that I had in the archives at the time. …actually, I
think it’s still there. Hm. Embarrassing stuff.
It’s just something I really, really like. I first read it in Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, Volume 6, Fables and Reflections. I don’t know why it appeals to me so much, I think it’s simply the fact that it’s such a jarringly unusual collective noun for anything. Yet it fits for Ravens.
Currently I’m in university (University College Cork, to be exact) studying Financial Maths and Actuarial Sciences. I’m enjoying it so far, though I miss some of the math classes I had last year that I don’t get to continue this year. Still, it’s interesting.
Over the next year I plan to complete my second year in uni, and keep of the 1.1 average I had last year. Apart from that, I want to start learning sword for the reenacting group I’m part of in uni, and get as good as I can at Magic: The Gathering. I’ve been playing since Lorwyn, so I might make a standard deck this year. We’ll see.
Robert Browning, famous Victorian era poet? I guess the main thing that’s up with him is decaying slowly. >> Or did you mean a different Browning?
“Childe Roland to the Dark Tower came” is your custom title. Why are you blatantly plagiarising a slowly decaying guy?
Oh yeah, I’d forgotten about that. Huh. I guess the main reason is that I read the poem that goes with the Dark Tower series and I really liked it. Also it symbolises everything I loved about that series, or a lot of it anyway.
…I REALLY like The Dark Tower is the moral of this story.
Given the current state of affairs, do you have a preference regarding white american cheese, or orange american cheese?
Guinness or Kilkenny? <3
George W. Bush. Great president or the greatest president?
The only good kind of cheese is melted cheese. And the only good kind of melted cheese is orange cheese. Therefore the only good kind of American cheese is melted orange cheese. I think that’s an answer!
…<.< Straight shots of Jameson, actually. I can’t stand beers or stouts unless I’m already pretty drunk. So I just drink the hard stuff. Damn it’s tasty.
Why are we limiting this to simply the presidency? G.W.B. is the greatest accomplishment mankind ever has or will have to offer in any field that can be imagined.
Ever.
Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert?
Paul Giamatti: best actor of our time?
How long have I been here?
Do you have a penis or a vagina?
Tacos or Burritos?
Sword or Spear?
And for a serious question…
If the world were going to be destroyed, and you could save 3 things, what would you save?
Batman or the Green Hornet?
Did you get that thing I sent you?
What does Sefier’s avatar say?
Which one of these two shows would you like to see canceled South Park or Family Guy?
Why do you like an Unkindness of Ravens over a Murder of Crows?