Halloween Mixer - this is so much fun!

[Martha]

* Do you believe in ghosts? Why or why not?

No. Too cynical. (Although I did believe in ghosts when I was 
younger, particularly ghosts of monks. Don't ask why monks.)

* What things about you often come as a surprise to others?

People I meet these days are usually pretty surprised to find out 
that I was clinically depressed for a period of - well, a good few 
years - and that I'm a feminist, that my mother is Welsh/Italian, and 
that I have scarlet hair and a bunch of piercings and two of my 
favourite things are children's books and musicals.

* Provide the etymology of your signature/handle/email address. In
other words, how and why did you choose the name you use on the
HPfGU lists.

Well, I used to use a bunch of pseudonyms but now go by my real name -
 Martha - since I get sick of changing my name whenever I get into 
something else and then people don't know who I am. 
The "fakeplastikcheese"/"fakeplastikcynic" thing comes from the fact 
that I was a fairly obsessive Radiohead fan when I set up my Yahoo 
account.

* Whose signature/handle/email address on the HPfGU boards {a} would
you like to steal or {b} intrigues you?

I don't know - there are so many.

* Describe your ultimate Halloween costume.

I've always wanted to go as Edward Scissorhands - with that sort of 
bondage costume type thing he wears, big hair etc. That would involve 
far too much effort, though! In the past I've been to fancy dress 
things as the Wicked Queen from Snow White (there were 10 of us 
althogether which made seven dwarves, a Snow White, a prince and me), 
a bag of jellybeans, I'm being Tonks tonight and if I ever get around 
to going to "Sing-along-a-Sound-of-Music" I'm being a brown paper 
package tied up with string. What can I say? I love dressing up!

* If you lived in the Potterverse, who would you be, and what would
you do for a living?

I'd be a DADA teacher for a year (I mean, I couldn't for any longer, 
could I?) then maybe see if I could get a slot supporting the Weird 
Sisters on tour...

* What would you see in the Mirror of Erised?

Well, socks, obviously. And me not having to worry about money, and 
with a PhD.

* What shape would a boggart take, if you chance upon one?

A giant moth with Ringo Starr's face and the theme music from Thomas 
the Tank Engine playing eerily from nowhere. (Actually, this is 
something that I have often wondered about - if you were most afraid 
of heights, like I am really, what would it turn into?) 

* What happy memory will you rely upon, if you are to conjure up a
Patronus?

Ooh, I don't know. Maybe the first time my boyfriend kissed me (he 
wasn't my boyfriend at that point), stepping off the bus that took me 
far, far away from summer camp and into New York city, seeing the Foo 
Fighters at Reading Festival 2002...

* What form might your Patronus take?
* What might your animagus form be?

I've not really considered these before, although I have considered 
what my daemon would be if I were one of Philip Pullman's characters -
 and I reckon a bear, the sort that eats all day and lazes around. So 
maybe that could be my Animagus form too. I'm not so sure about the  
Patronus though, since I don't think I have a specific happy memory 
that's good enough.

* What's your scariest moment from a film or television show? Or,
tell us which horror movie is your all-time favourite, and why.

Scariest moment - actually ghosts'n'guts horror movies don't bother 
me too much. I get much more distressed by films that feature extreme 
violence, particularly rape scenes. The film 28 Days Later scared me 
for a lot of reasons (not to say it isn't brilliant though). Best 
horror movie is The Others - very clever twist.

* Ever wonder into which Hogwarts House the Sorting Hat would put
you? If you're not sure, here are a couple of sites where you can
get sorted:

Ravenclaw all the way. I reckon that's about right actually - I'm not 
brave and noble enough for Gryffindor, not hard-working enough for 
Hufflepuff and definitely not enough of a high-class bitch to be in 
Slytherin - but I am aiming to be a full-on underpaid academic.

* Is your interest in Harry Potter just good, harmless fun . . . or
are you bordering on obsessive? Find out here:

62% - and I'm disappointed by such a low result. Is that weird?

* Speaking of your interest in Harry Potter, you can share all the
details by posting your own Harry Potter Geek Code. If you haven't
created one, this site will walk you through it:

OK, my code is: a21 e++ z* A15 R1 HP3 S+ Mo- SS++ SB+++/RL+++ TheD+ 
SB& O++ht Sl++ sfF sfD

Have I done it right?

One last Halloween-related thing - while I was filling this in, I was 
attacked by a specially-designed Halloween popup advertising free 
Thomas the Tank Engine stuff - and in the supermarket the woman in 
front of me was given £6.66 in change, I kid ye not. Spooky! 
Wooooohhh!

~ Martha, off to make her own-recipe Butterbeer, which would perhaps 
be better named Buttervodka