Proust's Questionnaire

2026-02-16

James's blog introduced me to Proust's questionnaire. Here I provide my own responses.

Your favorite virtue

Mercy and patience.

Your favorite qualities in a person

Kindness and hospitality. Sticking to principles.

Your favorite occupation

Tailoring.

Your chief characteristic

I try my best to be kind to everyone.

Your idea of happiness

• Spending time in nature.
• Mastering a language.
• Fixing a computer problem.
• Sticking to a routine/schedule.
• Being surrounded by loved ones.

Your idea of misery

• Being alone.
• Being in one place all the time.
• Working overtime or during holidays.
• Having no internet connection.

Your favorite color and flower

• Green
• Dahlias

If not yourself, who would you be?

Richard Stallman.

Where would you like to live?

Overland Park, Kansas.

I miss being close to the local Jewish community and all the resources that are available in the Kansas City metro area.

Your favorite prose authors

I used to like Cory Doctorow, but I don't like him as a person, and he blocked me on Mastodon for being pro-Israel.

I liked Art Spiegelman and his book Maus.

One of my favorite resources is Jewish Literacy by Joseph Telushkin.

Your favorite poets

I don't get into poetry much. I can't say I have a favorite.

Your favorite painters and composers

I like Vincent van Gogh's The Starry Night.

I like Bach and Tchaikovsky a lot.

Your favorite heroes in real life

• Grandma
• Richard Stallman
• John McDougall

Your favorite heroes in fiction

Marcus Yallow of Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

I need to read more...

Your favorite food and drink

Thai curry and bai lin gong fu Chinese black tea.

Your favorite names

• Sarah
• Matthew
• Noah
• Dylan
• Rachel

Your pet aversion

• The smell of bacon or ground beef cooking.
• Animal fats.

What characters in history do you most dislike?

• Coco Chanel
• Melvil Dewey

What is your present state of mind?

Accomplished, relaxed, optimistic.

For what fault have you the most toleration?

Out of what? I had to consult a list.

Inability to communicate openly and honestly.

Your favorite motto

Charity saves from death.