Half a Dozen of The Other

I've been supposed to do this meme (from Srah) for a little while now. The problem is I just don't know what to write. The premise is fairly simple: Write six random things about you. What do you not already know that I am willing to let you know? I guess, we'll find out.

1. I hate the word supper. Seriously hate it. I'm not sure if it's the double P which causes the middle portion of the word to sound like a breathy whisper regardless of the volume at which one is speaking or if it is that is sounds like something a pretentious windbag would say to ensure that you realize his meals are finer and more sophisticated than yours.

2. I love infomercials. I think that they combine complete absurdity with marketing genius. There will be more on this eventually, because I started writing a post (quite a while ago) about it that I hope I will one day have the time to finish.

3. I don't know that I've ever had a conversation with anyone that I didn't already have mentally. Before I talk to someone I think about every possible variation of their responses and what my responses would be based on that and so on and so forth. This means that conversations with a doctor are preceded by my mental version of the conversation in which the doctor tells me everything from "you're a hypochondriac" or "we all feel like that all the time" to "you have only days to live" or "you need to be committed" depending on the problem we're discussing. (Ok, maybe saying it's every conversation I have is an exaggeration, but it's going on up there pretty much non-stop.)

4. Urban legends that I heard early in life have had a lasting impact on me. It doesn't matter if I know it's not true, they have been permanently ingrained in my mind and effect how I think. Every time I am driving at night and a the lights of a car behind me become brighter (whether it is because of a change in angle or because their brights are on) I think of this. I'm not saying that I believe anybody's there; I'm just saying that story is always there at the back of my mind.



5. I hate the issues caused by effect/affect. It's not as if you can just rely on the rule that effect is the noun and affect is the verb. Nor can you assume that affect really only is used in relation to emotion. The rules get all mixed up until something affecting you can have an effect or something can effect a specific affect on a person, though that second one is a bit of a stretch. In speech, I tend to avoid the issue by essentially pronouncing them both the same way, which comes out sounding more like uh-ffect than either of them. Unfortunately, when I write, I tend to avoid the issue by writing one followed by the other then changing it back and forth until I decide to use impact, result or some other synonym as well. Can't we all just agree to make them into one word with a single spelling?



6. While many people won't even recognize his name, I think that Maurice LaMarche is one of the most talented people in the entertainment industry. The sheer number of voices he has done is overwhelming, and he manages to do both characters that require him to sound like someone else and characters that give him the freedom to create an entirely new voice. Combined with his talent for comedic timing and intonation, this makes him a memorable actor even if you never see him.