Saturday 9: You're Beautiful

Saturday 9: You're Beautiful (2005)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) The first line is of this song is, "My life is brilliant." Using one word, describe your life.

A. Confused.

2)  This is about a chance encounter between strangers in a crowd, specifically the subway. What "crowded place" were you most recently in?

A. The supermarket.

3) Near the very end of this song, James Blunt sings, "It's time to face the truth." Do you believe you face things head on? Or do you tend to deny or put off the unpleasant?

A. It depends on the situation. Some things you have to face immediately, the moment they're happening. Other things you put off and hope something decides to heal on its own.

4) James Blunt went to an all-boys school. Some educators recommend single-sex classrooms because they maintain girls just naturally approach subjects like math and science differently than boys do. Do you agree?

A. I went to a same-sex college (go Hollins!) and loved it. The masters level courses were co-ed, and in my creative writing seminars, men were frequently in the room. They tended to dominate the conversation, take over, be snide and condescending. And the teacher nearly always called on them first. But in the undergraduate classes, all female, there was none of that, we were all equal. I learned so much about being strong, inwardly and outwardly, from those classes, things I would never have learned had I always been second place everywhere to a male. So I agree with single-sex education but not because the sexes learn differently (though they may) but because the patriarchal society we live in simply demands that women fall in line and come second, an attitude that even an all-female undergraduate school cannot vanquish when men are added to a class for whatever reason.

5) Blunt put his father in charge of his finances. Income taxes are top of mind for many of us this time of year. Do you do your own taxes? Or do you go to an accountant or tax preparation service?

A. I have an accountant. We had been going to the same accountant for over 10 years, but we did not agree with some of his advice, so last year we went elsewhere. That turned into a nightmare, as this year we had to pay someone else to redo the 2014 taxes and the 2015 taxes. The person who did the 2014 taxes was either clueless or not who he said he was. At any rate, we think we have it sorted out now with someone who at least understands what a farm is.

6)  In 2005, the year this song was a hit, the sitcom How I Met Your Mother was also popular.  Do you know how your parents met?

A. My father had come home from the Army and wanted to go fishing. His parents lived in the house behind my grandparents'. He asked if he could look for worms underneath an old mulberry tree my grandparents had in the back yard. My mother went to help him look for worms. I guess she caught the worm she was looking for.

7) 2005 is also the year Tom Cruise famously jumped on a sofa. Do you remember where he did this?

A. He was on some talk show, but I can't remember if it was a late night show or Oprah or whatever. Gee, let's google: Oh. Apparently it was Oprah so I was sort of recalling it right.

8) 2005 was also the year YouTube really took off. What's the last video you watched?

A. You're Beautiful, the video for the Saturday 9 song, of course.

9) Random question ... Which of these high profile jobs would you enjoy more: head of General Motors, CEO of Apple or president of the New York Yankees?

A. CEO of Apple. It sounds like it might have some potential for creativity in it, and I don't know a thing about cars except how to put them in gear and drive them. I don't like baseball, so that's out, too.

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I encourage you to visit other participants in Saturday 9 posts and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however.