That Interview Meme

These were five qns I received from mordwen about a week ago – I really enjoyed them, but needed help with one, hence the delay.

1. What is the most beautiful thing/place/experience in the world?
Happiness within myself. It adds depth and a level of joy to everything/place/experience I encounter in the world.

2. Banquet. 10 people. What’s on the menu? dolmades; tabouli; greek salad with goat’s feta and kalamata olives; a tomato/chickpea/coriander curry; some of kitling‘s roast vegetables – with lots of beets; roasted capsicum and garlic couscous; warm, fluffy turkish bread with hummos, eggplant and tzaziki dips; fresh seasonal fruits and a cheese platter to finish with. mmm.. damn, now I’m hungry for everything I can’t get here!!! (this is dreaming as I can’t make most of these things! I’m very good at buying though 😉

3. You’ve recently revealed a large love affair with a few cameras you own. What happens when you’re behind that viewfinder? How does it change how you see?
I always see the world in photographs, and have done since first being lent a snap and shoot camera to take to Expo 88. I can still clearly remember the first real photo I ever took, the first time I looked at something and saw a photo – it felt so right and I’ve never lost the wonderment of it. So, when I look in the viewfinder, it’s not that I suddenly see things in a different way, it’s that I see whether what I see with my eyes will work within the 35mm format. When I’m behind the viewfinder, reality does get chopped up into what is inside the shot and what is outside. I do find it divorces me from people somewhat, although I try to minimise this. I think one of the dangers of photography is to always be recording life and not living it, so there are times when I deliberately choose to leave my camera at home, but it’s often a hard decision, and becoming harder. The more I learn, the more it changes what I see. Up until now, I would look at something and mentally compose it in my head, then use the lens to confirm or deny it as a shot worth taking. Now I look at something and as well as finding composition, I’m also imagining what it would look like mostly blurred versus all in focus; how the colours will appear and how I can bring them out; how it would look in B&W versus colour; whether I want silouhettes or details etc. I’m also trying to see things how film records it, without all the automatic adjustments our eyes make.

4. How do you say “Why, yes, I would like to kiss you, you stunning woman!” in Japanese? (and assuming there’s no way you’d be so forceful about it in Japanese, what’s the re-translation of all the other bits back into English?)
So this is the question which has delayed me putting up this post immediately! I could not think of an exact way of saying that…actually couldn’t imagine a situation here which would warrant a remark in such a manner! I could think of a basic rough translation but wanted to consult a couple of friends to see what they thought. Combining heads with starofpersia brought about: “mochiron, konna miryokutekina bijin to kissu shitai yo!” (note, my input was changing one adjective!) which I would translate back as “Of course I want to kiss you, you charming beauty” It’s not particularly polite – fairly foward and to the point. Now wish me chance to use it here 😉

5. What is one of your favourite memories of a grandparent?
Hmmm…I guess it would be of Nan, who was actually my step-Nan I would see on holidays when I visited Dad. My favourite memory would be of her smoking like a chimney and playing gin rummy with me for hours.