Five Questions

By way of yhlee 

 

1. What's your favorite fencing parry?

I'm really boring -- it will be six, for now, or "sixte" as they call them here. The truth is, I haven't yet gotten a favourite, so I'm defaulting to standard, at least in the "en garde" position. Once I actually parry, it's "whatever works, just try not to get hit!"




2. Most interesting Polish saying or expression?

 

Oh, hard to choose!

This one I like because it's very Polish: Gość w dom – Bóg w dom, which translates to Guest in the house -- God in the house. It's very Polish because we're obsessively welcoming and would rather be found dead than have anybody consider us inhospitable. That's how I grew up, so it always rings true.

 

Then there's kota nie ma, myszy harcują (cat's away, mice are partying), which I like because, well, cat! 

 

But I think my all time favourite is one that I always knew the meaning of but got to appreciate once I learned its etymology: puścić komuś płazem. Directly translated, it's "to let someone go flat" but what it means is to let somebody get away with something. Everybody in Poland knows the saying, but its origins are lost. In fact, it comes from duelling with swords--to let someone "flat" means to hit them with the flat side of the blade, not the edge, and so to spare their life! 



3. Favorite nebula?



That's a good one. I do have a favourite nebula, except it's not a nebula any more. Andromeda used to be considered a nebula before they figured out it was actually a galaxy. And it's my favourite because...
 
4. What's the earliest sf book you remember reading?

 

After some kids books I read, the one that I remember the most, and that was actually a formative work for me was Andromeda Nebula by Ivan Yefremov. It's really old, written way before I was born, but it's the book that sparked my love for both science-fiction and space science. The plot would probably make me cringe today, but back then, I loved its idealism. It was also pretty much "hard" science fiction, with scientific concepts that had me totally enthralled (there's a section where the characters are on a planet with huge gravity and can barely move…) Hehe, I just looked it up and found it on Amazon with the following description: "No writer did as much as Yefremov for science," wrote one reader, "and no scientist did as much as Yefremov for literature." 

 

Anyway, this is what my copy looks like…



5. What do you like to drink to celebrate?

 

Champagne. Predictable, but it's also a source of good memories as I spent over a decade in Belgium, some two hours' drive from Champagne (the region). We used to go there fairly regularly, sometimes dropping in on various wineries for tasting. Good times! (And let me tell you, champagne is vicious in drinking games. Last time I tried, it didn't end well!)

Thanks for the questions!

Anybody wants to play?