April 11, 2009

• Interview from Levanna

  THE Levanna of gun-firing, rhyme-wielding, smarty-pants wearing fame was giving out a "free interview" on her site, and I raced to be first to advantage of this opportunity. FIRST?!!?!, commenter riffraff, take that! Ready....GO!

  Levanna: Let's be honest - have you ever listened to rap ... and ENJOYED it?

  Confession time...I like rap, and would like it even more if it was less materialistic or knew more artists who didn't clash so badly with my Christian beliefs. No, you won't find any Tupac under my table. I actually buy very little of it, probably because I don't know who the more socially conscious artists are. But you have to understand, I grew up as an outsider to white suburban community, and was frustrated by the closeminded culture. I also used to like poetry and making rhymes. So the idea that one could rap about their beefs with the world and make it musical with beats to drive the message into your heart was an easy sell to me.

  Levanna: Calvinism. Go.

  Whenever I think about Calvinism, I see in my mind's eye a European wearing a beret and sipping his coffee. He tells me "Shame about all those people going to hell, laddie, but God's sovereign, you know. Lucky us, right? Fancy a muffin?" and then takes another sip. There are many logical, witty, kind people who believe in Calvinism. There are many very good reasons to believe in Calvinism. But there's a certain heartless determinism about it that makes me recoil on contact.

  Levanna: What's your least favorite cereal? and Why?

  There's nothing cheery about Cheerios, and I'm tired of waiting forlornly for a touch of honey from my cereal when I could do just as well by opening a REAL bottle of honey and pouring it on my cereal. That bee may be outside the box, but my taste buds report he never did make a trip inside. And for the love of grain, what nut thought "Corn Flakes" sounded delicious? I've dug too many flakes of corn out of my teeth while eating corn on the cob to be excited about that name.

  Levanna: Who's your favorite author? I got stuck with this one, so you are too.

  Villianness! Treachery! :-p
  Oh dear, this is going to be hard. For most underrated, it's Lloyd Alexander and his Prydain Chronicles. He's sadly overshadowed because the Chronicles of Narnia and the Lord of the Rings series overlap with him. But I know better; I will always be Taran, although I hope one day to no longer be Wanderer. Ok, ok, let me choose O. Henry once more. I've read every last one of his short stories. And for an oddball choice--Luke in the New Testament is not appreciated enough. I love how he sees so many things and has such style in his writing.

  Levanna: Do you think birth order impacted your childhood?

  Being the first of three brothers meant that I grew up feeling a strong sense of responsibility to those weaker and younger than I. It also meant that at times I approached matters as a parent instead of a peer, and tended to over-advise and analyze. However, without being a first-born, I don't think I would have ever become a leader and would have lost much of the initiative I have today. I also lucked out to have two great brothers. I only wish I had tried to learn more from them; there was much I could have learned about myself and my family if only I had paid more attention to how my younger siblings lived. To a certain extent, I believe your immediate family IS you, if you can only listen closely enough. (I was in a very close-knit family, so take that statement with the necessary antidote).

  Now, I will pick at least one of you for an interview next.

  1 -- Leave a comment, saying you want to be interviewed.

  2 -- I will respond asking you five questions.

  3 -- You'll update your blog with my five questions, and your five answers.

  4 -- You'll include this explanation.

  5 -- You'll ask other people who want to be interviewed five questions.

  • 9:31 pm
  • 24 Comments