Its been a long long time since I did one of these, so when zombiesrah posted a new invitation I had to jump in on it. You know the rules: If you want me to interview you, just post a comment saying so. And now, the questions zombiesrah posed of me.:
1. I’m asking similar questions of a lot of my artistically-inclined friends, but I’m curious. Where/when do you tend to get your inspiration? What do you do when you want or need to create, but things just aren’t coming smoothly?
That’s really really hard to say. It all depends. Lately I haven’t been artistically inspired (at least in the classic sense) at all. That’s why there haven’t been any bits of artwork or writing showing up. I have been a lot more into whipping myself into shape. The weight lifting, the wrestling. I don’t know why. I guess I just go through phases. That said, let me try to give you something of an answer. For writing, I guess I just write whatever I have to say. And that varies. It might be fiction because I feel like there’s a story I just have to tell. It might be an essay because someone has pissed me off, and I have a bug so far up my ass I just have to cut loose. For the drawing its all about just seeing something and getting a picture in my head. Then I just try to put it out there. Sometimes the process is really really slow. For instance, I still haven’t done anything at all with my safadancer or theadana photoshoots. I have an idea of what I want to do with the Laura one, but no fucking clue where I am going with Claire. But neither idea is baked to the point that its totally pressing on me, so I haven’t felt driven to do anything. Its all about the drive. In reality, I guess I’m actually a lazy person, but when something forces me to act (and that might be outside forces, but it can just as easily be me being neurotic) I spring into action.
2. You’re a fellow pro-wrestling fan. For you, what’s the allure of it? What do you plan to do with your newly-developed wrestling abilities?
Well there are a few things. One is the getting in shape, which I already talked about. I just feel driven to do that right now. Another is just the athletic spectacle. I love watching wrestling. I have since I was a little kid. The realness or fakeness of it never mattered to me. I never really care much who wins or loses. I love to see an incredible match. I want to be a part of that. I’ve spent a lot of my life learning one martial art or another, but the simple truth is that in real life I never actually get to use any of that. Also, and any of my fellow martial art afficianados reading this will probably concur, in real life fights just don’t last that long. They’re generally over in a matter of seconds. Or they’re really long and boring to the casual eye, like an hour of a single bearhug while the other guy repeatedly punches the same spot on your head (We miss you Oleg Taktarov!). Wrestling gives something more. Its like watching a Bruce Lee movie. Or even better, now its like I’m in it. Hopefully I’ll be able to keep with it. I’d ultimately like to do this. I don’t have delusions of being the next WWE champion or anything. Honestly I’m too old, and too small. But really, I’ll be ecstatic if I ever manage to headline a local show somewhere. And if the day comes where I do hit the big time, then so much the better.
3. You get to dictate public policy on any one issue you choose. What issue, and what is your decree?
This a pretty hard one. Mostly because it varies for me depending on what stick is up my ass at the moment. 🙂 so I guess I could point you at some of the 1000 words of free-flowing hostility. If I had to pick one that is pretty consistently near the top of my list though, I guess it would be freedom of speech(and press and artistic expression). That one has always been pretty important to me. My decree would be pretty close to the first ammendmant really. Freedom of speech shall not be hampered in any way shape or form. I guess I’d just work hard at making sure that was upheld.
4. You seem to know a hella-lot of people. How’d you get to be so popular? What are the upsides and downsides of having so many friends and friendly acquaintances?
It’s all done with mirrors. Honestly, part of it was luck, part of it was conscious choice. You’d never guess it looking at the charming, studly, charasmatic, fun-loving, outgoing and delightfully gorgeous hunk of manhood that I am today, but I was actually incredibly shy growing up. I just made a decision one day that I didn’t want that to be my life anymore, so I made it a point to make myself into the kind of person that I would really want to hang out with. I started caring a whole lot about my appearance and my mannerisms and I just put myself out there. I forced myself to be fun and became the guy who tries to make everyone else have fun. Frankly it scared the shit out of me. Sometimes it still does. But it also works. So I was just this really fun guy to hang around, I guess and then I kind of ended up pledging a fraternity (KDR) meeting a large subsection of the CMU geek culture, becoming good friends with a couple of people who were really popular (Faisal Jawdat and Tommy Tarka). So I sort of became a nexus between all those groups. I also started rooming with jameel who honestly wasn’t very popular at the time, but would go on to become so years later (largely by copying a lot of my mannerisms, I might add), then feed his large group of friends back into mine. And I throw a kickass party. Word spreads and more and more people start showing up. That helps. Also, never be afraid to let them see you in your underwear.
Well, the good points are just that I meet more and more people and people are interesting, which is good in and of itself. Also, just by law of averages, sooner or later you have to meet a few people who you really click with. So you make some good friends.
The bad points are that it is exhausting. Jammy Jam this year just completely drained me, and as fun as it was, part of me is just glad its over. Another drawback is that I always feel bad when someone knows me but I don’t quite remember who they are, and that can happen a lot. Finally, part of me still really is a shy and timid little kid, particularly when I’m depressed. So sometimes, it can be a little overwhelming.
5. What does the tattoo mean?
ahhh… very sneaky. Ok, well the first tattoo, the one I already have on my right shoulder blade is the culmination of about 10 years of reworking a design based on chaos arrows, a yin yang, an ankh, a cross, a star and the moon. There have been various variations over the years, and I eventually settled on that. It was never quite right when I was working on it, but then max1975 worked out his hell sigil, I decided to push towards a heaven sigil. Heaven (or similar realms) has been a theme in my fiction for longer than I care to remember. As I wrote I worked out the kind of person I wanted to be in life and I began to think that aside from whether or not there was a heaven or hell or god or good or evil, the code that i would live my life by would be to “run with the angels” as it were. I have a whole bunch of concious rules I try to follow which involve being helpful and honest and honorable and a whole bunch of other crap that just doesn’t matter right now, but the point is, I wanted to be worthy of being chosen by the angels, or valkyries or whoever. In my stories, certain individuals who are chosen were given a mark that denoted such. A kiss of the valkyries as it were. So when I had settled on what it was, I gave myself that tattoo as a reminder to myself and as a symbol of my work.
As for the other tattoo, the one you probably meant, which I don’t yet have. Well, I wanted something more symbolic of my personality as I am as opposed to what I aspire to be, so I designed that one. Elements that are included are moons (again) an eye (very prevalent in my artwork), the head of a wolf (a shadowolf, specifically… but that’s another story), a scarab (representing strength and rebirth), a spider (representing creativity), a yin yang and finally the entire thing is composed of the letters M A V superimposed on each other, which is just very obvious to me, and I am amazed no one got that. I will be getting option 2 tattooed on my left shoulder as soon as I get my first paycheck.
So, anyone want an interview?
Also, never be afraid to let them see you in your underwear.
I’ll… keep that in mind. 😉
The bad points are that it is exhausting.
I was wondering about that. I wasn’t sure if you might have a few introvert traits, and I can completely sympathize with this one. I love my friends dearly, and I like being around people much of the time, but it does get really, really tiring when the social battery runs down.
I really like both tattoo designs. They’ve got a beautifully clean, elegant look. And interesting backgrounds, too.
Thanks, Mav. 🙂 Questions for me, please?
Hmmm, this is going to be fun, since I don’t know you as well as most of the other people I have asked questions of. It’s like get to know Sarah day.
1) What do you want to be when you grow up? And I don’t mean like what you’re studying for now (unless that’s what you really really want). I mean in your ultimate fantasy pipedream, what do you want? Describe it… tell me about it.
2) Like me, you seem to be into martial arts and weapons and wrestling and generally “not nice” stuff like that. Why? How did it start?
3) What was the best day/night of your life? The worst? Why on each?
4) Ok, time for the requisite naughty question. You ever play Fuck/Marry/Kill. Its a childish lockerroom game. Name 3 famous people, one you just want a night of passionate sex with, one you would want to marry, and one you’d want to kill. Why? If you want, feel free to substitute historic people, or cartoon characters or friends or whatever. Or if you’re feeling really adventurous, you can do all the groups. Hmmm, I like this question, I may make a meme out of it for lots of people.
5) And now my obligatory superpower question: You can have any one super power. Which do you pick and why?
hey wow… lots of stuff i didnt know about mav.
if you have any questions for me, that’d be cool. but im kinda boring.
Hmmm…. lets see, this should be interesting since I haven’t seen you in like a million years…
1) If you could pick anywhere to live and money and emplyment and such was no object, where would you pick? Why?
2) You always complained about the “groupies” thing. But did it really bother you? Or did you secretly like it? Why?
3) You had pretty diverse schooling between the music and the engineering. Are you glad you did both? Do you wish you had focused more on one or the other? Which has served you better over the years? Does 30 year old Kerry (if I remember your age right) wish that she had gone a whole different direction (perhaps, I dunno dentisry or something) when she was 18-year old Kerry?
4) You get to wipe out any one moment in history. What do you pick? What about in your own personal life?
5) the question i ask everyone: You can have any one super power. Which do you pick and why?
*gingerly sticks toe in shark infested waters*
um… interview me?
1) Puppetry? Why? When did you get interested? Who was your favorite puppet as a child? What about now?
2) speaking of being a child… what was your favorite game? What about cartoon or song? Do any of your childhood things still hold a special place in your heart today?
3) What was your earliest childhood memory?
4) Ok, grown-up question: Who was your first crush? What about kiss? What about date? What about sex?
5) You can have any one super power. Which do you pick and why?
I could be interviewed. Interview me!
Hmmm… I interviewed you before… let me think… Oooh… i think I’ll ask you questions that I have asked other people:
1) Who had the single biggest influence on your life personally? How about on society at large?
2) What is your best physical feature, and what would you most like to change? Same thing for your personality.
3) Its suspected that you may have come down with the SARS or some other disease and you need to be quarantined alone for the next 3 months. What 5 things can you not do without?
4) In the movie of your life who plays you? Who plays me? Pick 3 other important people in your life and who plays them?
5) Dammit… I can’t ask the super power question either… ah ha… I can use my backup question from What would the manga/anime series “Thwomp!” be like? Teenage ninja schoolgirls in love? Epic mecha space drama? ESPers talking to woodland creatures? Tell me about your character and a typical adventure?
neat. so, if your curious what the hell happened to me in the last, oh, call it 8 years, interview me. 🙂
1) Ok, first a deceptively easy question: Pick a number between 1 and 10, think hard about this now. Don’t get it wrong. Got it?… ok… now tell me why.
2) What’s your favorite movie of all time? Favorite Book? TV Show? Song? Comic Book? Why on all?
3) You can go back in time for 5 minutes and talk to the 1 day old Tara. She can’t really understand anything that you say, but maybe she’ll have an over arching sense of guidance just from having met you and the things you have told her. What do you say?
4) Pick one historical figure to interview with 5 questions just like this. Who do you pick and what do you ask them?
5) And the super power question: You can have any one super power. What do you pick and why?
Hey, man, you’d just caught me at a time when most of my crowd (Class of ’92, baby!) had just graduated! I did learn the Art of the Party from you, though, and I tell people that pretty often.
well, I didn’t say you were a loser or anything, just that you weren’t popular at the time… I make no claims about anything before that…
As for your sharing in the party force, I have no problem with that. In fact I encourage it. Which is why i talked about it here in the first place…