Mae Govannen, Mellyn
Hello. Im Roccondil Rínon. Where to begin...I am seventeen years old, a h2g2 geek (obviously), and I am in first year of my BA course at Monash University. I live in the city that is regarded, along with Vancouver, as the 'most liveable city in the world': Melbourne, Australia. I am a member of the 'other MCC' - the Melbourne Cricket Club, sister club of Marylebone.
I am, if nothing else, an obsessive. For a hobby, I create entire worlds, complete with languages, cultures and wars, that are almost, but not quite, entirely nonexistent.
My favourite books: His Dark Materials, The Lord of the Rings, Les Misérables (also love the musical), The Light of Other Days, Heart of Darkness, The Rama Trilogy, One Dead Seagull, Harry Potter, everything by DNA.
My favourite films: Star Wars (old and new), Apocalypse Now, The Matrix, Ben-Hur, The Dish, Local Hero, Apollo 13, The Great Race, Gone With the Wind, 2001.
My favourite music: Beethoven, Mozart, Holst, Jessica Butler; Brubeck, Joplin, Satchmo, Gershwin, Sinatra; Pink Floyd, The Eagles, Alan Parsons, Bruce Springsteen, Dire Straits, Al Stewart, Jackson Browne, Rainbow; System of a Down, Green Day, Linkin Park, Jet, Panacea, Metallica, Muse, Wolfmother.
My favourite TV shows: M*A*S*H (also the movie), Yes Minister, The O.C., Lost, The Simpsons, Get Smart.
My other faves: Halo 1 and 2 and Burnout: Takedown (Xbox games), Diablo II (PC game), Elvish languages, piano, band, tennis, cricket, coffee.
(Talk about eclectic!)
I am an aspiring actor, and have so far appeared in West Side Story (2002), Calamity Jane (2003), FAME (2004) and Grease! (2005) with the Mazenod-Avila Theatre Company. I took a step up in 2006, appearing in Dandenong Theatre Company's production of Les Misérables; it was the best experience of my life. A review of the show can be found on the Theatre People web site. Chookas and kudos to everyone involved. Most recently, I reprised my rôle in West Side Story with DTC.
I am working on a seven-book fantasy epic, at present titled Hawking's Time. Its story covers ten years and thousands of miles of a parallel planet called Uuna. A brief outline of the plot and characters can be found in the abovelinked Guide Entry. With the aid of questions posed by established fantasy writer Patricia C. Wrede, I have created a separate Entry that provides a more in-depth guide to the world it is set in. You can read this entry here. Finally, I've more recently composed a chapter-by-chapter synopsis of the novel itself. These Entries are a year or more old now and much of them is no longer accurate, but I reckon I should better spend my time writing the damn thing - I'd hoped to have Book One done by now - than writing about it. I'll probably get around to it eventually.
I studied English, Linguistics, Philosophy, Psychology and second-year Calculus this year. This again shows how eclectic I am. The only common thread is "thought". Next year I will be continuing a double major in Linguistics and Philosophy, taking an English elective, and completing my Maths minor.
Contacting me: roccondil.rinon[at]hotmail.com
Thanks to A Girl Called Ben for this quiz.
I'm supposed to say something like 'you must be really bored if you're reading this'. To hell with that. Ego is not a dirty word. I don't find myself boring, so I see no reason why everyone else should.Living Arrangement?
With my mother, father, brother and ego in Glen Waverley (south-eastern Melbourne for those of you who haven’t yet been to heaven).
Favourite boardgame?
Monopoly. It imitates reality far better than Jumanji or Zathura could ever hope to do.
Favourite smells?
Rain in the dry summer air; a certain woman’s perfume.
Favourite sound?
Atmospheric rock & roll, like Pink Floyd used to do.
What is the first thing you think when you wake up?
In the morning: BELGIUM!! I am not a morning person at all. I can’t get up before nine without a cup of coffee. And I can’t make myself a cup of coffee without getting up. Catch 22.
During the day: What’d I miss?
How many rings before you answer the phone?
Depends how deep in my bag it is.
Most important thing in life?
Learning.
Favourite food?
There’s a pizza-pasta chain in Melbourne (not fast food, more up-market) called Sofia’s. They do gelati the size of soccer balls. The waitress was flabbergasted when I finished one.
Favourite drink: a Max Brenner dark mocha in one of those funny little cups they serve it in.
Chocolate or vanilla?
Chocolate. See above.
Do you like to drive fast?
You kidding? I’ve had too many bad experiences with arrogant P-platers. (For non-Aussies, we have to display a red plate with a P on it for the first three years we have our license. Other countries have equivalents, I’m sure.) I want a Smart Car, not a Lamborghini.
Do you sleep with a stuffed animal?
No, but I keep the owl I used to sleep with.
Storms: Cool or scary?
Awesome! “That handy word which describes anything that pounds the senses” – Scot Gardner, One Dead Seagull, the best book for teenagers I’ve ever read. Way better than Harry Potter.
Favourite alchololic drink?
Cascade Premium Lager (thanks to this Entry for putting me onto it) or Smirnoff Black.
Ever been in love?
Requited love? Well, I can always hope.
Favourite Movie?
Listed several elsewhere; my number one is probably The Empire Strikes Back.
What is under your bed?
The spare mattress.
Favourite number?
42. Duh.
Favourite spectator sport?
Bureaucracy. When there’s nothing important at stake.
What is your favourite article of clothing?
Just bought a lovely black leather jacket at an op-shop. On the buttons is a key and the number 21. People have enough trouble as it is believing I’m 18. (It’s the beard.) One of these days I’m going to change the buttons. Probably the week before I turn 21. (Update: I actually did change the buttons last week.)
Your favourite place to be?
Any of the dozen coffee shops dotted around Monash (the cheaper the better) with my best mates Chloë, Paw, Julian, Dan, Mel, Caz, Em, Jake, Rocky, Dan, Sylvia, Rachel and Chloé. Stacey's there in spirit if not in person.
Where is your least favourite place to be?
Springvale Station. Anyone from Melbourne knows what I mean; anyone not from Melbourne doesn’t want to.
What is your favourite TV show?
Every Wednesday night, as a matter of weekly ritual, I forget to watch House.
What is your favourite kitchen appliance?
I run on coffee. Three guesses.
What makes you laugh?
The world itself is a cosmic joke. Just look at the horoscopes in the paper. Or read DNA’s Last Chance to See.
What makes you really angry?
That John Howard was returned to office three times despite everything he’s done to screw this country over. He doesn’t know how lucky he is that the Opposition has no backbone either. 'If they didn't vote for a lizard, the wrong lizard might get in.' (DNA, So Long and Thanks for All the Fish.)
If you could play any instrument what would it be?
I play piano and saxophone. I sing. I’d like to be able to sing well enough to play Marius in Les Misérables. But just to be in it is such a wonderful experience.
Favourite restaurant/café/eatery?
Shine, a bar/café just down the road from home. Partly because of the good food, partly because it’s so convenient (to me and to everything else), and partly because almost every time I’ve been there I’ve run at random into a certain mate of my Dad’s who’s just a great bloke to pass the time with.
Scariest moment of your life?
My second solo performance on stage – as Schlomo in MATCo’s FAME (2004). (My first, the previous year in Calamity Jane, involved no singing, just acting. Psssh.)
Do you believe in an afterlife?
Yes, if only because I want to. I don’t know what it’ll be like, and I’m in no great hurry to find out. I believe there’s definitely something there; I’m equally certain that it ain’t what the big organised religions have told me it is.
Favourite children's book?
Winnie the Pooh. It still gets funnier every time.
What is your favourite season?
Spring. I love the ‘bloody April showers’. Except down under they come in October.
“Spring has sprung, the grass is riz,What is your least favourite household chore?
I wonder where the birdies iz?”
Board.
If you could have one super-power what would it be?
What Ben said: “America. By the short hairs.” But seriously folks: Mel Gibson in What Women Want.
If you have a tattoo, what is it and where?
I’ll probably never get one. If I do, probably a rómen (my monogram) on my shoulder.
The song you wish you had written?
Brothers in Arms (Dire Straits). I’m compensating for not having written it by stealing it for the title of the penultimate volume of Hawking’s Time.
Cats or dogs?
Cats. I used to have half a one (the neighbours had the other half – we never figured out which half was whose).
What's in the boot of your car?
Don’t have one yet. Don’t even have a licence. In the back of the family car is a picnic rug and Dad’s cricket kit. It’s a 4WD (they are not SUVs down under) but when that kit is in the back, there’s no room for anything else. When I get a Smart Car, there’ll be room to swing a cat. But only if it’s a very patient cat and doesn’t mind the occasional knock about the head.
What is your favourite day?
Payday.
Using only one word - describe yourself
Eclectic. I’ve already said that, haven’t I. How about intuitive.
Using only one word - what would you like to be?
Rich. Because I can’t say ‘I want to find my soulmate’ in one word.
What did you want to be when you grew up?
An actor. I still do, if I ever get around to growing up.
What is the greatest lesson you have learned in life?
Tell the people you love that you love them NOW, because tomorrow is not guaranteed.
Would you do it all again?
Most of it.
If you could go one place on earth that you haven't been yet, where would it be?
The silver screen.
The Dream Team
My answers to The Dream Team headings in DNA's The Salmon of Doubt.Dream Film Cast.
Depends what film, doesn't it. I'd like to see Les Misérables (the musical) filmed. I'd want to have the cast of DTC's production: every single one of you. I love you all. We rock! Alternatively, I would love to see Anthony Warlow as Jean Valjean opposite Philip Quast as Javert.
OR, I'd like to see The Light of Other Days by Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen Baxter filmed, though it would be lucky to escape an X-rating. It shouldn't be, but it would be. The other things I want to see filmed are His Dark Materials, which is being done at the moment, and the little-known adventure The Horn of Mortal Danger.
Dream Rock Band.
Again, I have to include myself on vocals. On guitar: Mark Knopfler and Tim Renwick. Piano: Roy Bittan. Keyboards: Francis Monkman. Bass: Roger Waters. Drums: Don Henley (so we can duet on vocals too, plus he has awesome songwriting skills). Saxophone: Clarence Clemons. (So I've got two members of the E Street band. So what if it lessens the eclecticity, they're cool.)
Dream Lover.
Keep your filthy hands off my filthy mind.
Dream Project.
To finish Hawking's Time. I will, I promise. Any decade now.
Dream Careers.
(DNA put 'Dream Alternative Careers', but that's because he already had one.) Actor; author; singer/songwriter; Supreme Ruler of the Universe. In that order.
Dream Holiday.
It'd have to be around the (first) world; to visit Western Europe, Britain, Scandinavia, America and Canada, and return via Japan.
Dream Home.
Believe it or not, a huge apartment in Southbank. (The posh south of the river in Melbourne.) I don't want to leave this city. I like the feeling that I'm in the middle of things better than the 'serenity' of living closer to nature. (It was most gratifying to find DNA's dream house was in Australia.)
Dream Cuisine.
Ooh, that's asking for it. I couldn't, see. I need change. I need variety. Even one whole culture's cuisine wouldn't be enough. Though I don't think I'd get tired of Max Brenner chocolate. Sick, most certainly; but not tired.
Dream Day Out.
I couldn't fit nearly enough things, or enough people, into 24 hours.
I know most of those answers turned out to be cop-outs. I guess I'm just tired at the moment. And my intellect could never hope to compete with the great Adams.
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Roccondil - Let others rise to take our place until the Earth is free!
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