2026QOTD January 26-31
Jan. 23rd, 2026 02:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
christopher57526. It’s Australia Day! What do you think of when you think of Australia?
This is a very timely question because Sendle, the amazing Australian company I used to work for, is shutting down. This follows a merger that clearly didn't turn out so well. I recently spent some time on their blog turning my posts there into PDFs for my portfolio and it was a very bittersweet experience. They're the company that took a chance on me, giving me my first full-time writing job when my portfolio was all freelance pieces. Well, I worked briefly as a full-time writer back in 2000-2001, but I don't really count that as the bulk of what I did was turning job requisitions from a large technology company into job postings, then putting them on Monster.
Anyway, the people at Sendle in the US as well as back in Australia were some of the coolest people one could ever want to work with, and I got to do interesting work that was important to me. The website is still up even though they've ceased operations, but I have my PDFs to link to from my portfolio. I should probably do that. Maybe in the morning.
27. Up-Helly-Aa is a vibrant fire festival celebrated in the UK Shetland Islands tonight. Thousands gather to witness the breathtaking sight of a longship ablaze, illuminating the night sky. Do you have any similar local winter or summer celebrations?
I grew up in New Mexico and the annual burning of Zozobra is a pretty big deal there. And they smartly added an evening balloon glow portion to the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, which I think is the best event. I'm struggling to think of any "let's light something on fire" events up here but as you know we risk burning the entire country down every year on July 4.
28. Have you ever played a kazoo?
Surely at some point. I was more fond of the tubes that you tilt back and forth that make an alien style sound, and the little cannisters that sound like farm animals. Plus those tubes that have a spinning thing inside that make a much funnier noise than a kazoo.
29. It's Tom Selleck's birthday - have you ever seen him in anything you've enjoyed?
I already mentioned Whispers Lounge, my '80s blog. His 1984 movie Runaway is the exact type of thing I love to promote via that blog. And his movie Her Alibi is one of my all-time favorite comedies. I should probably revisit Three Men and a Baby. And as someone who was previously in an intergenerational relationship, I thought it was great when he dated Monica on Friends. I know Magnum, P.I. is conspicuously absent here, especially since I have the '80s blog. I'd like to watch it at some point but I think Miami Vice should come first.
30. In 1873, Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne was published in France. Have you read the book or seen any of the films?
I used to watch the cartoon and the theme song is now stuck in my head!
31. Do you like hot chocolate with or without marshmallows?
What I don't want is a packet of hot chocolate mix that comes with dried marshmallows. There's something about the texture of dried marshmallows that makes my skin crawl, so anything like that hot chocolate or a cereal like Lucky Charms has to sit for long enough to ensure the marshmallows are no longer dry. At all. And by that time the hot chocolate isn't hot, and the cereal isn't crunchy.
This is a very timely question because Sendle, the amazing Australian company I used to work for, is shutting down. This follows a merger that clearly didn't turn out so well. I recently spent some time on their blog turning my posts there into PDFs for my portfolio and it was a very bittersweet experience. They're the company that took a chance on me, giving me my first full-time writing job when my portfolio was all freelance pieces. Well, I worked briefly as a full-time writer back in 2000-2001, but I don't really count that as the bulk of what I did was turning job requisitions from a large technology company into job postings, then putting them on Monster.
Anyway, the people at Sendle in the US as well as back in Australia were some of the coolest people one could ever want to work with, and I got to do interesting work that was important to me. The website is still up even though they've ceased operations, but I have my PDFs to link to from my portfolio. I should probably do that. Maybe in the morning.
27. Up-Helly-Aa is a vibrant fire festival celebrated in the UK Shetland Islands tonight. Thousands gather to witness the breathtaking sight of a longship ablaze, illuminating the night sky. Do you have any similar local winter or summer celebrations?
I grew up in New Mexico and the annual burning of Zozobra is a pretty big deal there. And they smartly added an evening balloon glow portion to the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, which I think is the best event. I'm struggling to think of any "let's light something on fire" events up here but as you know we risk burning the entire country down every year on July 4.
28. Have you ever played a kazoo?
Surely at some point. I was more fond of the tubes that you tilt back and forth that make an alien style sound, and the little cannisters that sound like farm animals. Plus those tubes that have a spinning thing inside that make a much funnier noise than a kazoo.
29. It's Tom Selleck's birthday - have you ever seen him in anything you've enjoyed?
I already mentioned Whispers Lounge, my '80s blog. His 1984 movie Runaway is the exact type of thing I love to promote via that blog. And his movie Her Alibi is one of my all-time favorite comedies. I should probably revisit Three Men and a Baby. And as someone who was previously in an intergenerational relationship, I thought it was great when he dated Monica on Friends. I know Magnum, P.I. is conspicuously absent here, especially since I have the '80s blog. I'd like to watch it at some point but I think Miami Vice should come first.
30. In 1873, Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne was published in France. Have you read the book or seen any of the films?
I used to watch the cartoon and the theme song is now stuck in my head!
31. Do you like hot chocolate with or without marshmallows?
What I don't want is a packet of hot chocolate mix that comes with dried marshmallows. There's something about the texture of dried marshmallows that makes my skin crawl, so anything like that hot chocolate or a cereal like Lucky Charms has to sit for long enough to ensure the marshmallows are no longer dry. At all. And by that time the hot chocolate isn't hot, and the cereal isn't crunchy.
