Erstwhile Mancunian blogger Stuart Ian Burns is halfway through an interesting monthlong project on his blog Feeling Listless, called Review 2006. He's asked readers to send in any question, and he'll answer one a day for the whole of December. But he isn't simply answering these questions - some of which are quite complex indeed - he's using each one as the jumping-off point for a sort of ruminative mini-essay. Past questions have ranged from "Why can't Liverpool FC win away from home?" to "How many girls has James Bond slept with?". He's delved fearlessly into his personal life with toughies like "What would your total fantasy life be like?" (Rosario Dawson and the New Yorker figure prominently) and "Why Stuart Ian Burns, not Stuart Burns?" He's covered blogging, with this one: 'Whenever I think of doing something like a blog, I always worry that anything I write would either sound really pretentious or be very boring. How do you handle those fears and just write?"
And then there's my favorite:
"Throughout most of The Empire Strikes Back, the Millenium Falcon's hyperdrive is not working (should have gone to Kwik Fit!) so it can't travel faster than light! However, there is a point where they travel from the Anoat System to the Bespin system. Separate Star systems would never be less than a couple of light years apart (I presume!), i.e. at least two years travel even if they could attain just a tiny bit less than light speed! It clearly doesn't take them this long, so is it some sort of 'worm-hole' or curved universe phenomena that they utilise to accomplish their trip?" Awesome.
"Throughout most of The Empire Strikes Back, the Millenium Falcon's hyperdrive is not working (should have gone to Kwik Fit!) so it can't travel faster than light! However, there is a point where they travel from the Anoat System to the Bespin system. Separate Star systems would never be less than a couple of light years apart (I presume!), i.e. at least two years travel even if they could attain just a tiny bit less than light speed! It clearly doesn't take them this long, so is it some sort of 'worm-hole' or curved universe phenomena that they utilise to accomplish their trip?" Awesome.
The good news is that you can still get in on this, as Stu's looking for his last ten days' worth of questions, so send yours to feelinglistless@btopenworld.com. There are five flavours of question he will answer:
(a) Personal (egotistical). A question about something that has happened this year or something I've written on the blog that you've wondered about but were too afraid to ask.
(b) Trivia. 'How big is the moon?' or 'How fast is the fastest thing that's ever been fast?' that kind of thing.
(c) Review. What do you think of this album/film/book that I like?
(d) Opinion. See if I can work out something you've been ruminating on. 'Why do people who get on buses always stand near the door when others are patently going to get on after them and they'll be blocking the way?' That sort of thing.
(e) Advice. Dear Stuart, I wonder if you could give me advice about this problem I've been having ...Basically a question about anything.
Go forth and enquire.
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