Darleen from Darleen's Place

We continue the blog interviews this weekend. Today, it's ...

Darleen ...



from (where else?) Darleen's Place.

Our panel of questioners are all set...



And now the first question...

What is the most vile blog you've encountered and why was it so vile and what werew you doing there?



You mean besides Pandagon? I admit I troll some far-left sites because I'm continually amazed at the displays of surrealness and paranoia. It's truly a wonder how these people actually function on a day-to-day basis, so steeped in the personal is the political, one imagines them standing in the supermarket cereal aisle trying to decide if Fruit Loops is a Rightwing Conspiracy stealth slam personally directed against them. However, one truly vile - as in cruel with no redeeming value - site I visited was during the Terri Schiavo debacle. Some indecent excuse for a human being had made the site as if Terri were "blogging" and the entries were all grunts and moans.



Judy Garland or Barbra Streisand?



Judy! Babs has a great set of pipes, no doubt, but Judy seemed to capture such deep, touching emotions with her singing. Right there with Frank.



If Elvis Presley was alive today, what would he be doing?



Either an MTV reality show, "The Presleys", with him shuffling around the Graceland kitchen frying pb&b sandwiches OR doing Jenny Craig commericals with Kirstie Alley. -- AFTER being pardoned for killing Michael Jackson.



Where is one place on the Earth you've never been but would love to visit?



ROME! When my husband and I were in Southern France we visited one of the few remaining Roman aqueducts. Here was a structure over two thousand years old, that moved, relatively unchanged, through the years while ephemeral human individuals came and went. It's the closest thing to actually being in a time machine. I want to do more.



What was your worst day blogging?



The worst day blogging was the day deciding not to blog for at least a week. Like a nasty-tasting medicine, I knew I had to do it, just regain my bearings.



What was your best day blogging?



When I wrote about the death of my cat last Christmas. ("A Kitty's Tale") The writing was both very personal (and it came so effortlessly) and universal -- my readers could identify with it. It's the essense of the blogsphere, the sharing of common ideas and experiences.



If you had to spend one day chained to a person you've never met (think, "The Defiant Ones"), who would that person be?



Oh God, a choice between lust and intellect!! For intellect, I'd enjoy a day with Condi. Lust .... er, ahem ... Anthony LaPaglia, Ed Harris, Val Kilmer, Sam Elliott ...damn, so many choices and only ONE day!! heheheh.



What is your favorite cartoon and why?



Nothing has ever topped Calvin&Hobbes. Not just for the wry humor and the artful drawings and watercolors, but that Waterson did not romanticize/fantasize childhood. Calvin lived the kidworld realm that exists just below much adult radar ... fighting crushing boredom, dodging unrestrained bullies, chaffing at endless restrictions and staying sane through a vivid imagination. Animation, I'm a huge fan of what comes out of Pixar. Hey, I want to live next door to The Incredibles.



If you could relive one day over, exactly as it happened, what would be that day?



My wedding, July 2001. Oh, there were funny glitches that my husband, Eric, and I still laugh about, but the clarity and depth of the love and happiness I felt that day, unfettered by daily routine ... Mmmm, I would love to visit it fresh again.



Who are your all-time favorite actor and actress?



Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn. I don't believe either one of them ever made a bad film.



Mr. Howell or the Professor?



The Professor ... I'm a pushover for brainiacs.



What Democrat and what Republican in your state could change parties and both parties be the better for?



Geez, the parties in California are so polarized that any crossover would be treated like a Tony Roma's Rib dinner set before Michael Moore. I'm truly stumped on this one.



What is your favorite vacation spot?



Mammoth Mountain, California - Winter or Summer.



What was your favorite year?



1965 - I was 11, starting guitar lessons, going to Girl Scout Camp Lakota, family trip to Yosemite ... all the joys and innocence of being a pre-adolescent. Something we don't really appreciate until our first April 15th as a working adult.



The Three Stooges or Cheech and Chong?



Cheech and Chong, fer sure, dudes. BTW, where's Dave?


Dave's not here!

---

Thanks, Darleen! This was great!



I want to thank you again for inviting me to participate. This was lots of fun!

Next weekend, we'll have interviews with Jack Grant from Random Fate and E. M. Zanotti AKA The American Princess. Those will be fun.