20qs
Michael Ward
01.12.09
www.tmichaelward.com
- 1. What character in a movie or book do you most identify with?
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Ralphie in The Christmas Story. Always wanted that 100-shot Air Rifle.
- 2. What do you do to relax?
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Paint! Other than that I like talking walks, reading, doing sudoku (my vice).
- 3. Favorite vacation spot?
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Puerto Vallarta. Great food, great weather, wonderful people, and we get to room for free with my mother-in-law. Second would be Paris.
- 4. Where haven't you been that you're dying to go?
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Buenos Aires, and Cuba.
- 5. What’s your next major goal in life?
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To be able to paint full time.
- 6. Who had the biggest influence on your life?
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My aunt who raised me up to the age of 12. She let me run free across the wilds of Montana that were my backyard at the time and encouraged my artistic sensibilities when I was still at the crayon stage.
- 7. Favorite drink?
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Tequila martini
- 8. Favorite restaurants in Orange County?
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Angotei in Costa Mesa, El Chinaco (for their fish burrito), Abe Sushi in Newport, Peking Restaurant in Westminster (hole in the wall place with the best pot stickers this side of Hong Kong), Xanh Bistro in Fountain Valley.
- 9. Last major purchase?
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Bought my neighbor's Honda Accord when she upgraded to a Lexus. Great car--I'm not giving it back!
- 10. Dumbest investment?
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Bought 100 shares of a company called Vuebotics because they had a cool-looking annual report. It promptly went to zero.
- 11. A famous person you would love to meet?
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The Dalai Lama
- 12. Biggest accomplishment?
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Developing my skills as an artist without any formal training or mentors, just encouragement from friends and family.
- 13. What's your biggest fear?
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That I won't be able to accomplish everything in this life that I want to.
- 14. Who are your favorite artists?
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There are so many. Vermeer, Robert Estes, Van Gogh, to name more than one.
- 15. If you had to begin a different career, what would you do?
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Be an international travel writer and restaurant critic.
- 16. Secret most people don’t know about you?
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That I have a great sense of humor.
- 17. Who is your favorite fictional character?
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Not quite fictional, but Herman Melville's character in Typee. He wanted to throw it all over to become the consort of the Queen of Tahiti. Fortunately for literature she turned him down.
- 18. Your biggest extravagance?
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Traveled to Washington DC in the middle of a blizzard to see the Vermeer show at the National Gallery. The entire city was shut down at the time.
- 19. What's your favorite CD?
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Lust for Life by Iggy Pop
- 20. What was the best day in your life?
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Going up in a hot air balloon in Tuscany. Had to drive like hell at 5am to get to the takeoff point, then got thrown in a gondola with a bunch of German balloonists who spoke hardly any English. Landed in a cornfield and had my hair set on fire by the Germans, then doused with champagne (some sort of first-timer ritual, they said). A perfect day!
20qs
Keith May
12.22.08
www.mayphotoanddesign.com
- 1. If you had to begin a different career, what would you do?
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Park ranger.
- 2. What's your most prized possession?
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My portfolio.
- 3. Favorite drink?
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Maker's.
- 4. What are you cutting out due to the economy?
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Excess.
- 5. Fantasy purchase?
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Triumph Bonneville.
- 6. What can't you live without?
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Pencil and paper.
- 7. What's next on your to-do list?
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Producing/selling Mesa Theater T-shirts and canvas grocery bags. That image stirs lots of memories.
- 8. Biggest regret?
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Not learning to play guitar much, much earlier.
- 9. Cause that you're most interested/involved in?
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Reclaiming our democracy.
- 10. Your dream day in OC?
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Every day in Orange County is like a dream. We have it pretty good here.
- 11. Favorite place for breakfast?
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Sunday morning at The Rabbit Hole on Irvine Ave. in Costa Mesa: football, $4 Bloody Marys and the best eggs Benedict in town. Shirley's Bagels any day of the week.
- 12. What was the best day of your life?
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The elation of pulling in after a 7,000 mile solo ride on a Harley-Davidson, and completing the best photo-assignment ever still brings a smile. Editing the resulting 40 rolls of film was pretty fun, too.
- 13. Last concert that you went to?
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Beck at The Coach House, but that was many years ago. Nowadays, I’d rather catch some undiscovered talent at local open-mic nights, for free.
- 14. Favorite vacation spot?
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Riding along PCH/101 and stopping wherever/whenever. No schedule. No reservations. Joshua Tree is good, too. Sitting poolside at a swanky hotel bores me. Plenty to see right here in the good ol' USA.
- 15. What do you love and hate about Orange County ?
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Love the climate, but the sprawl is out of control.
- 16. Favorite books?
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I stick to the classics: Steinbeck, Hemingway, Fante, Chandler, London, Kerouac, etc. America was a lot different, then. But I never get bored with Hunter S. Thompson or Philip K. Dick, either. Of the modern writers, Chuck Palahniuk and Cormac McCarthy are pretty good.
- 17. Favorite restaurants in Orange County?
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La Cave. Simple meat and potatoes menu and they know me at the bar. It's been there since 1962 and hasn't changed much. Great hideaway. Literally under ground. If you want veggies, go to Soup Plantation. Nesai and The Wild Rabbit are pretty good, too.
- 18. Biggest accomplishment?
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Surviving as an artist.
- 19. What's your biggest fear?
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Lack of integrity that permeates business and government. Praying Obama changes things. First hundred days will be critical. Lots to do.
- 20. Secret most people don't know about you?
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I was born with three thumbs.
