Ask Dara Anything! 2008 Edition

I'm still suffering from writer's block.

The good news is that I'm going on vacation soon. Well, not really a "vacation," per se, but down to Florida to see my family and to have unveilings for my mom and grandfather. (Note to the non-Jews, an unveiling is a ceremony where the headstone is uncovered. Tons of fun.)

Hopefully all of that family togetherness will give me something to write about. But until then, I'll have to find other things to do. So, in that vein, here's a fun little game we haven't played in a while: Ask Dara Anything. It's your chance to ask me, well, anything. Just submit a question (or questions) by sundown next Wednesday, and I will answer it. To the best of my ability, anyway. Or maybe not. But you'll get some kind of answer.

Interesting quizzes

Yesterday, Gene Weingarten's chat linked to two face recognition tests. I only missed one on the celebrity quiz, but I only scored an 86% on the regular test. Clearly this means that way too much of my brain is devoted to utter nonsense.

Then, today, my brother sent me this quiz where the complete lyrics for a well-known rock song placed in alphabetical order, with each word appearing no more than once (regardless of how many times it appears in the actual song) - and you're supposed to guess the song.

It's harder than it looks, but, as I just noted, I'm pretty good at nonsense. I spent about twenty minutes on it, and, on first glance, I was sure of 31 of the 50. When I spent a little time thinking about it, I came up with ideas about another 6 or 7, which as luck would have it, turned out to be mostly right.

Let me know how you do.

Presidential Candidate Quiz

Found this quiz on Kimmie's blog:

89% John Edwards
89% Barack Obama
87% Hillary Clinton
87% Chris Dodd
85% Dennis Kucinich
85% Mike Gravel
80% Bill Richardson
78% Joe Biden
43% Rudy Giuliani
29% John McCain
23% Mike Huckabee
23% Tom Tancredo
22% Mitt Romney
16% Ron Paul
14% Fred Thompson

2008 Presidential Candidate Matching Quiz

Pretty much confirms what I already knew.

Test your knowledge

It's been a busy night and I still have to fold laundry. So here are two links that will either frustrate you or make you smarter: Free Rice and The Almost-Impossible Rock & Roll Quiz.

Politics and Computer Quizzes

I found this nifty little political quiz, courtesy of Arjewtino.

The test results indicate that I should vote for this guy:



It also told me that this is how I feel about everyone else:



Which leaves me with one question: How did people know who to vote for before computers told them who their ideology best aligned with?

What's My Karaoke Theme Song?

This was eerily prescient:

Your Karaoke Theme Song is "Livin' On a Prayer"

You believe the best things in life are mostly forgotten, and you're definitely more than a little nostalgic . You're likely to still like the same foods, fashions, and music as you did when you were a teenager. You have a knack for knowing what elements of pop culture people have missed, without them even realizing it. It's great to remember the past, but don't forget that not everyone is as stuck in it as you are. You might also sing: "Pour Some Sugar on Me," "Rapper's Delight," and "Cherry Pie" Stay away from people who sing: "Toxic"

What's Your Karaoke Theme Song?

Inconceivable!

I remember that my mom took me and the siblings to see The Princess Bride in the theater. It's hard to believe that it was twenty years ago.



It's still one of my favorite movies.

Since then, I've always had a soft spot for Wesley Cary Elwes. Alas, he hasn't aged well. (Not as bad as Val Kilmer, though. Yikes!)



Actually, most of the cast hasn't aged all that well. With, of course, the exception of Fred Savage, who surprisingly turned into a normal-looking grown up.

Anyway, on a related note, here's a Princess Bride quiz. I am:



Which Princess Bride Character are You?

I am S-M-A-R-T

I Scored a 100%!

Mingle²

Tarot card

Stole this from A Feel Good Production:

You are Temperance

Time. Ages. Transformation. Involuntary change

Temperance is another card of aspiration, but also of much change. It often
represents complex situations. Positively, you can harmonize contrary
forces.

Temperance is, on a surface level, about "tempering." The original pouring from cup to cup might have been about cutting wine with water. So this is a card about moderation. There is, however, another angle to the card, that of merging seemingly impossible opposites. Sagittarius, the centaur, merges beast and man into a unique creature. And then there is the bow and arrow, one moving, one stationary, working together to point the way. Temperance may be, at first glance, a warning for you to "temper" your behavior, to cut your wine with water. But it may also be a reminder to that seemingly irreconcilable opposites may not be irreconcilable at all. Belief that fiery red and watery blue cannot be merged may be the only thing standing in the way of blending the two. Change the belief, measure out each with care, and you can create otherworldly violet.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Go figure

Malnurtured Snay posted this earlier -- and it confirms what we've long suspected:

You Are the Middle Finger

A bit fragile and dependent on your friends, you're not nearly as hostile as you seem. You are balanced, easy to get along with, and quite serious. However, you can get angry and fed up with those around you. And you aren't afraid to show it! You get along well with: The Index Finger Stay away from: The Pinky

What Finger Are You?

Tortured genius? Moi?

You Are 86% Tortured Genius

You totally fit the profile of a tortured genius. You're uniquely brilliant - and completely misunderstood. Not like you really want anyone to understand you anyway. You're pretty happy being an island.

Are You a Tortured Genius?

Well, duh.

Thanks to Malnurtured Snay for the link.

State Quiz

Can you name all 50 states in 10 minutes? (Courtesy of Casual Slack)

FYI, I did it with 4:44 left.

Pop Quiz

Bored on a rainy Friday? Take the How's Your Vocabulary? quiz.

Your Vocabulary Score: A+

Congratulations on your multifarious vocabulary! You must be quite an erudite person.

How's Your Vocabulary?

Or, for more of a challenge take the Does Your English Cut the Mustard? quiz.

Your English Skills:

Grammar: 100% Punctuation: 100% Spelling: 100% Vocabulary: 100%

Does Your English Cut the Mustard?

Accent?

This is a very popular quiz this week -- it's been everywhere, including Gene Weingarten's chat. So, I took it. And the results are, uh, peculiar:

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Midland "You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.
Philadelphia
The Northeast
The Inland North
The South
Boston
The West
North Central
What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes

This says I have no accent. It's wrong, though, because I have a combination of accents.

I mean, I grew up in New Jersey, roughly halfway between New York and Philly, and then moved to Southeast Florida. I went to college in Tallahassee, which is pretty darn southern -- enough that I can -- and do -- use the term "y'all." My parents grew up in the Bronx/Brooklyn and Jersey City.* My grandparents are from the Bronx, but lived in Massachusetts for a long time. My cousins definitely speak with some Boston tendencies (and call subs "grinders").

I think "Philadelphia" and "Inland North" are overrepresented, and "The South" is underrepresented in my result.



*I'd say they both have New York accents, but my dad has a New Jersey accent, which is somewhat distinctive. The best example is that he says "Nuurk" instead of "Newark."

Ask Dara Anything! Round 3

It's a quiet holiday Friday around here. So, to amuse myself, I thought I'd sponsor another round of "Ask Dara Anything!"

It's exactly what it sounds like. The rules are simple: Just post your question in the comments section, and I'll answer it.

Pop Culture Litmus Test

I saw Interview's Pop Culture test today (thanks Gawker!).


I am astounded that I can only identify ten of them without resorting to Google or Wikipedia. Therefore, I've concluded that Interview is way out of my league.

Accordingly, I've decided that I ought to come up with my own Pop Culture reference test. Possible candidates from recent blog posts include:

• George Allen
• Stephen Baldwin
• Charles Barkley
• Bono
• Tim Burton
• Kirk Cameron
• Naomi Campbell
• Neko Case
• Eric Dane
• Patrick Dempsey
• Devo
• Ted Haggard
• Logan Echolls
• Tina Fey
• Mark Foley
• Kinky Friedman
• Lorelai Gilmore
• Jeffrey, Michael, Uli & Laura
• Alex P. Keaton
• Jimmy Kimmel
• Michael Kors
• Rush Limbaugh
• Richard Linklater
• Dave Navarro
• Chris O'Donnell
• O.K. Go
• Matthew Perry
• Ryan Phillipe
• Trent Reznor
• Santino Rice
• Alex Rodriguez
• Al Sharpton
• Slash & Axl
• Wesley Snipes
• Jeff Suppan
• Bill Watterson
• Jim Webb
• Gene Weingarten
• E.B. White
• Bradley Whitford
• Wegmans
• Michelle Williams

Scoring: If you can't identify the majority of these names, then clearly, this blog is not for you.

Fun with maps

This is a map of all of the states that I have been to:




create your own visited states map or check out these Google Hacks.

06/06/06

Tomorrow is 06/06/06, and it's freaking a lot of people out -- and making numerologists really busy.

Yep, 666 is upon us. To celebrate, they're planning a giant party in Hell, Michigan. And wait, there's more -- not only does the remake of The Omen debut tomorrow, but it's the National Day of Slayer. So in that regard, here's the How Evil Are You quiz:

You Are 54% Evil

You are evil, but you haven't yet mastered the dark side. Fear not though - you are on your way to world domination.

How Evil Are You?

Only 54%? This will definitely surprise some people.

The truth is that all of this 666 stuff is meaningless to me.

Tomorrow is my grandmother's 93rd birthday.

Now THAT's something.

Update: The crazies have started. On Metro this morning, some crazy woman was shouting at everyone to accept Jesus and become better people -- stop lying and killing, etc. -- otherwise God is going to get angry and smite us all.

Update 2: The crazies have multiplied. When I went to go grab my lunch -- yes, at Cosi -- there was a strange homeless-looking dude standing on the corner with a handwritten posterboard with some religious-looking writing on it. (I did not get close enough to read it.) More disturbingly, the same corner was occupied by a bunch of college-age Lyndon LaRouche supporters handing out their publication while arguing about how alternative fuels are a myth (and the only real choice is nuclear power).

Of course a song popped into my head, and I giggled noticeably.