The normblog profile 172: Boynton

'Boynton' lives in Melbourne. She has a BA in History and is a graduate of the Victoria College of the Arts Drama School. She has written plays for various theatre companies. She blogs at Boynton.

Why do you blog? > To filter the data. To find things. To log the findings. To share the whimsy. To make connections.

What has been your best blogging experience? > Receiving a book of poems from Ernesto. This is a material example of all the moments of connection that occur in the blogosphere.

What has been your worst blogging experience? > Feeding the troll.

What would be your main blogging advice to a novice blogger? > Keep an offline journal. Keep being curious - it's worth seeking out new pathways and it's easy to become beholden to posting rather than to reading. Take it seriously, but not too seriously. Don't feed the troll. If ennui strikes, take a break from posting and read.

What are you reading at the moment? > I bought a second-hand copy of Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable for a Christmas present which I had to keep for myself. I'm on the Bs.

Who are your cultural heroes? > Louis Leakey and his triumvirate: Dian Fossey, Jane Goodall and Birute Galdikas.

What is the best novel you've ever read? > War and Peace (biggest) and Hocus Pocus (funniest).

What is your favourite poem? > 'Frost at Midnight'.

What is your favourite movie? > Play Time.

What is your favourite song? > 'Hey Jude' and 'Hey Bulldog'.

Who is your favourite composer? > It's between Beethoven and Bach.

Can you name a work of non-fiction which has had a major and lasting influence on how you think about the world? > Paul Collins (TV and book) God's Earth: Religion as if it really mattered. It began a journey for me of ecological reading.

If you could effect one major policy change in the governing of your country, what would it be? > Get serious about climate change.

Do you think the world (human civilization) has already passed its best point, or is that yet to come? > I hope we can rise to the occasion.

What would be your most important piece of advice about life? > Life is not a dress rehearsal.

Do you think you could ever be married to, or in a long-term relationship with, someone with radically different political views from your own? > Yes.

What do you consider the most important personal quality? > Compassion.

What personal fault do you most dislike? > Humourlessness.

In what circumstances would you be willing to lie? > On the beach. (With the right person.)

What is your favourite proverb? > 'Nature abhors a vaccum.' (Not really, though I like the imagery. Probably 'Do Unto Others...')

What commonly enjoyed activities do you regard as a waste of time? > Fashion. TV poker. Sudoku.

What, if anything, do you worry about? > That I worry too much and ineffectively.

If you were to relive your life to this point, is there anything you'd do differently? > Leap first.

Where would you most like to live (other than where you do)? > By the ocean.

What would your ideal holiday be? > By the ocean in winter. Or maybe a walking tour along a coastline.

What do you like doing in your spare time? > Op-shopping.

What is your most treasured possession? > My dog's collar.

What talent would you most like to have? > Composing music.

Who is your favourite comedian or humorist? > Kurt Vonnegut.

What animal would you most like to be? > A sloth.

[The normblog profile is a weekly Friday morning feature. A list of all the profiles to date, and the links to them, can be found here.]