"Authorities say they've arrested a man who broke into the home of two California farmworkers, stole money, rubbed one with spices and whacked the other with a sausage before fleeing."

-- http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/09/07/sausage.attack.ap/index.html

burningofroissy

Comment on this post. I will choose seven interests from your profile and you will explain what they mean and why you are interested in them. Post this along with your answers in your own journal so others can play along.

Medical oddities: I love reading/hearing about/seeing photos of stuff that happens to the human body that is uncommon and/or unusual. Like, did you know that tumors can sometimes grow teeth and hair internally? Or that sometimes a fetus calcifies and can hang around for years undiagnosed? I don't know of every medical oddity that exists, but I'm always rapt with attention when I hear about one.

Unschooling: Unschooling is an alternative method of educating children/yourself, whereby one arrives at knowledge by pursuing one's own curiosity and interests. It differs from homeschooling (although the two terms are sometimes used interchangeably) in that the "student" doesn't have any learning forced upon them from an outside source unless they ask for it. It really relies a lot on humankind's innate curiosity. I've been critical of formal schooling since I was in high school, and I discovered unschooling as a result of researching educational alternatives. I've read a few books on the subject, and read a few LJ communities (they're unfortunately quite inactive, though!) and internet forums about it too, and I'm always inspired by the idea of it. I think if I were to ever have children, I'd give unschooling serious consideration. Children can be amazingly bright when left to their own devices.

Flapjacks and the beetus: LOL. This one's a joke between my boyfriend and me. (We're the only two people on LJ who have it as an interest!) It's a made-up comic strip (that may one day come to fruition!) about Matt's grandpa ("Flapjacks") and Wilford Brimley ("The Beetus"). The concept hasn't been terribly well-developed but if you're curious about it at all, feel free to ask. ;)

John Taylor Gatto: Gatto is a former New York City schoolteacher who won the New York State Teacher of the Year Award, and used his acceptance speech to retire from his job, saying that he was no longer willing to "hurt kids for a living." His book Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling was my initial introduction to education reform/critique. I really need to read more of his work.

The Schaperjahn continuum: This is another joke between Matt and I. :P Schaperjahn is my last name, and Matt has an odd fascination with it. One night, years ago, he randomly came out with "The Schaperjahn Continuum," which I guess is some kind of gauge of how much of a Schaperjahn a person really is... I don't know, lol... and I suggested that we both list it as an LJ interest. So we did. :D

Unity: Eh, this one's pretty simple: I just love when people pull together for a common purpose, or to achieve a common goal. It touches me.

Watching people sleep: I like when I'm lying in bed next to somebody, awake, and they're still asleep. I can lay there for quite awhile just looking at them. Most people are so cute when they sleep!

well, I've seen all there is to see
and I've heard all they have to say
I've done everything I wanted to do...
(I've done that, too!)

and it ain't that pretty at all
ain't that pretty at all
so I'm gonna hurl myself against the wall
'cause I'd rather feel bad than not feel anything at all

you know, I just had a short vacation, Roy
spent it getting a root canal
"oh? how'd you like it?"

well, it ain't that pretty at all
no, it ain't that pretty at all
so I'm gonna hurl myself against the wall
'cause I'd rather feel bad than not feel anything at all

now, I'm gonna get a good running start and throw myself as hard at the wall as I can, man...

I've been to Paris
and it ain't that pretty at all
I've been to Rome
guess what?
I'd like to go back to Paris someday and visit the Louvre Museum
get a good running start and hurl myself at the wall!
gonna hurl myself against the wall!
'cause I'd rather feel bad than feel nothing at all!

and it ain't that pretty at all!
ain't that pretty at all!

From the altfriday5:

1. Do you like to cook? If so, what? Haha. Well, I always whine and complain and dread it whenever I have to cook, especially if it's just for myself, or if someone is standing around watching me or offering tips when I didn't ask for any. Not to mention that there are some disability-related things that make cooking a pain in the ass for me, so that doesn't really encourage my looking forward to it any. However, I do always feel accomplished when I actually make something successfully. I guess I'm kind of ambivalent about it. As for what I like to cook? I don't know. The stuff I never mind cooking is just shit that I throw in the microwave. But too much of that crap gets sickening.

2. If you do like to cook, have you always or when did you start? If you don't like to cook, have you tried it without success or simply never gotten into it, or ...? I've kind of already gone over this, but... I guess I just never got into it. Things always seem to taste better when someone else made them. Haha. I'm more of a cleaner-upper. :)

3. What's the most ambitious-for-you dish you've ever prepared? How'd it come out? Matt and I collaboratively made fish chowder a couple times: once while I was visiting him at his mom's, and again when he was visiting me at my mom's. The first time it was yummy. The second time, not so much. (The pot boiled over, and, I don't know... it just wasn't as good.)

4. Have there been fears, hesitations, or items of squeamishness you've struggled with in cooking? I'm afraid of touching really hot things and burning myself. I guess everyone is, but like, that's one of my big reasons for avoiding cooking very much. *shrug* I also don't particularly like cleaning food waste out of sink drains, lol.

5. If you could learn to prepare one food perfectly the way you like it every time, what would it be? Hmm. I don't know. I kinda feel like I haven't failed enough at cooking to feel like I need to perfect anything (even though I do need to practice more). I'll say lasagna, because I love lasagna and would like to be able to make it deliciously, every time. :)