Just finishing up a little business here with a couple of fellow bloggers.

First of all, it looks like Brian Greenberg actually took me up on my challenge to do the Meme of Five; his answers are here, and they are both revealing and amusing… A navy blue tuxedo with light blue ruffles indeed!

I’d also like to note that Brian wrote a few words about that fire at Este Pizza, and he pledged to send a little cash to Dave Heiblim, Este’s owner. I’m sure Dave much appreciates your help, Brian, and I’d like to say thanks myself. That’s a damn decent thing for you to do for someone you’ve never met and who lives three-quarters of a continent away.

Moving right along, Jaquandor recently did an interesting meme in which somebody emailed him five interview questions tailored specifically to him. Jaquador then offered to return the favor to anyone who was interested. I, of course, said sure, shoot me five. Just one thing, though: I think he actually had some other Jason in mind when he formulated his questions for me. Still, I’m always game to give these things a try. My efforts to respond to some oddly inappropriate questions follow the break:

Questions for Jason!

1. What will it take to get you blogging regularly? I mean, really regularly?
Well, let’s see… I penned seven entries last week, and posted three items on Friday alone. Isn’t that regular enough?
Truthfully, I wish I did have more time to putter around with this blog. I’d like to write longer, more in-depth type entries instead of so many link-o-ramas and short little silly bits. But my current schedule simply doesn’t permit it. I just hope that what I do manage to put up is interesting to my readers… all three of you.

2. I haven’t been there in years, so are there good bookstores in Cedar Falls/Waterloo now?
Well, I’ve never been to Cedar Falls or Waterloo, so I really can’t say. Here in Salt Lake, though, we’ve got a couple of cool independent bookstores that have managed to survive the incroachment of the national chains. There’s Sam Weller’s downtown, which is the bookstore I frequent most often these days. It’s changed considerably since I first discovered it back in college, and I must admit, I actually preferred it back then, back when the basement was a dimly lighted, vaguely claustrophobic labyrinth of improvised shelves stacked floor-to-ceiling with cheap used volumes. You can still get second-hand books at Sammy’s, but the basement has been opened up, organized, and better illuminated; it’s just not the same. I also like The King’s English on 15th South and 15th East, although sadly, it’s not very convenient for me anymore. And of course there’s Ken Sanders Rare Books, a fascinating place if you’re at all interested in the early days of Salt Lake City and/or Mormonism. Not to mention groovy Sixties vintage rock and roll posters…

3. How do you respond to people who say that poetry is dead?
I am probably one of those people who would say that poetry is dead, if anyone were ever to ask me. Honestly, I don’t know much about poetry — it wasn’t something I enjoyed in school, and I don’t think I’ve actually read a poem (not counting the odd song lyric or the occasional quotation in a work of prose fiction) since the early 1990s. My own personal tastes and/or ignorance aside, however, I just don’t see that it has any sort of presence in American culture these days. I think it hangs on in a vestigial form as a tiny niche market for intellectuals and academics.

4. Am I deluded in thinking that at least some of the poetry in Lord of the Rings is good stuff?
Respectfully, Jaquandor, I would have to say yes. Keeping in mind the caveat that poetry isn’t my thing (see above), and also at the risk of alienating my friend Cranky Robert, our resident Lord of the Rings fan and expert, I didn’t find any of the poetry in LOTR memorable or enjoyable. I’m afraid I’m one of those philistinic readers who skipped right over the songs and the poems to get back to the action.

5. Where are the most physically beautiful parts of Iowa?
No idea, but I can tell you my picks for the most beautiful parts of Utah: I think the Wastach Front, the most populated and urbanized part of the state, is incredibly dramatic, with the craggy mountains looming over the city to the east and the Great Salt Lake to the west. Drive up any of the Wasatch canyons and you’ll discover alpine woods, more amazing geology, and, frequently, crystal clear and teeth-achingly cold reservoirs and lakes. Along the “Wastach Back,” i.e., the eastern side of the mountains that buttress Salt Lake, you’ll find high mountain valleys containing running streams and hay fields. West of Salt Lake, the Bonneville Salt Flats are an astounding exercise in vastness and tricks of perception (if you saw Pirates 3, you saw them standing in for Davy Jones’ Locker). And, of course, down in the southeastern corner of the state is the red-rocks landscape that is so heavily touted by the tourism industry. The town of Moab and nearby Arches National Park are amazing places, well deserving of their international reputations, and Bryce Canyon is downright unearthly.
And there you have it. Not quite the answers Jaquandor was expecting, perhaps, but hopefully satisfactory ones…