by Joshua Paulsen
Someone gives you a calfskin wallet for your birthday. How do you react?
I'd be thankful for their intentions. It was probably expensive.
Your little boy shows you his butterfly collection, plus the killing jar. What do you say?
I'd question the pleasure and pride he takes in the act of killing.
You’re watching television. Suddenly you spot a wasp crawling on your arm. How do you react?
Panic and flail, causing myself to get stung in the process.
You hear a song, a beautiful one at that, do you remember it?
I hope so.
You're reading a magazine. You come across a full-page nude photo of a girl or guy. You show it to your husband/wife, who likes it so much, he/she hangs it on your bedroom wall. The girl/guy is lying on a bearskin rug.
I'd replace it with a photo of a nude man being mauled by a bear. Or just hang it next to it. Both can be enjoyed.
While walking along in desert sand, you suddenly look down and see a tortoise crawling toward you. You reach down and flip it over onto its back. The tortoise lies there, its belly baking in the hot sun, beating its legs, trying to turn itself over, but it cannot do so without your help. You are not helping. Why?
This person could not be me, because there's no reason at all I would not help the poor tortoise!
Describe in single words only the good things that come to mind about your mother.
Artistic. Free-spirited. Enthusiastic. Talented. Loving.
You have one drawing to represent the foreign world, what do you draw?
It would have to be something surreal or abstract. Something cosmic or dreamlike. The foreign world is a big and vague concept to me. I would try to evoke it through emotion rather than a single definite image.
React to this: You're watching a stage play. A banquet is in progress. The guests are enjoying an appetizer of raw oysters. The entree consists of boiled dog stuffed with rice. The raw oysters are less acceptable to you than a dish of boiled dog.
Well I don't like raw oysters, so that makes sense. I've never tried dog.
