Sunday, April 17, 2005

20 Questions (cont'd)

The questions have been great, some real thought provoking ones and a few that have stumped me. There's still time to ask a few more, but now it's time for some answering.

The first four questions are from Stolly, who didn't supply a URL for me to link to, thanks Stolly.

Warning: this is a long post, I admire those who will read the whole thing.

Where do you see yourself in 5-10 years time?

Hopefully working at a newspaper somewhere, or any other media type company, this does not include The Telegraph. By this time I will also hopefully have submitted a few novels to publishers and/or agents, whether successfully published or not

What are your feelings about the liberal party "wet" faction, i.e. the more centrist and less conservative politicians like peter Costello and Joe hockey?

Myself being as left as Hitler is right, I still don’t like these people, who still tow the party line of the Liberal party. My feelings towards these people are similar to that of the Labour party, you cannot sugarcoat Capitalism, in some regards this can be extended to most parties.

What are your favourite 5 literary works of all time?

I am very ashamed of myself when it comes to an extensive amount of reading. I am a slow reader and until recently, I had gone off reading since I was in primary school. Since, renewing my passion for a good book or play, I have enjoyed some treasures.

1. The Green Mile – Stephen King. This book is by far my favourite; it really tears at your emotions throughout the book and is a marvel in language. The movie was described as a masterpiece, but the book, as always, trounces the movie. I loved this book so much that it was my monologue for my final year drama exam, the adapted monologue can be found on my homepage.
2. Waiting for Godot – Samuel Beckett. Until this play, albeit being a drama student, I had not found many plays I enjoyed, and one I can relate to and furthermore establish my beliefs solidly. I seem to have a tendency to my depressing plays, novels etc. This is one of the more depressing. Atheism is a very depressing belief at times, this play doesn’t help to come to terms with it, just put it in a darker detail, though the language, and imagery and metaphors are superb. I studied this play for my HSC
3. Asylum – voices behind the razor wire – Heather Tyler. This book in my opinion is the number one piece for outlining the tragedy of Australia’s immigration policy. It describes in detail the pain and suffering the detainees go through. It also removes some of the myths that fuel the debate from the other side. I used this as text for my HSC.
4. On Writing – Stephen King. This work is starkly different to the three before it, 1. It was not used or studied in conjunction with my HSC, and 2. It is not a depressing tail, except for King’s admissions about alcohol and drug abuse throughout his life. This book is a great handbook for any writer; it details the craft and the demands on the person. I must read it again, and most probably buy it.
5. Odd Thomas – Dean Koontz. I’m afraid I do not have much to choose from, but in some regards Koontz’s writing is better than King’s. His horror writing may not be as out there or strange, but his style is far more clear and concise, and for me it was quicker to read than a King novel, because Stephen King is such a complex writer that it makes it difficult to follow sometimes. This book, was great with a classic twist at the end, and as a whole was very entertaining.

We know your thoughts about America and its role in world affairs, but do you approve and support the terrorist response to those actions?

Terrorism is a word that has been thrown around too much. In my opinion the difference between the violence of a terrorist group and a government is the fact that the terrorist group has made it’s own group, and is not recognised as a state, but rather a group with a similar cause. Both terrorist groups and governments should be condemned for the use of violence on innocent people. I do support the Iraqi resistance when they attack US troops, but it must be noted that those who attack innocent Iraqis and even people signing up to be police should be condemned as they are doing a favour to nobody, and violence is not the answer.



Thanks for those questions Stolly I hope I answered them adequately, and I will answer more question in subsequent posts.