One of the cool things about the Internet is getting to know or “meet” people you would probably never, ever meet in real life circumstances.
Such is the case with Red Wine Gums.
Thanks to him, I’ve learned a new vocabulary word or two — like smeg and runners. :) I even learned what Red Wine Gums were. Had no idea before.
We’re very different. He’s a Christian who writes about his faith and his beliefs, among many other subjects. I tend to not write about religion. However, I’m also Christian but certainly not devout. I guess I’m what you ‘d call a “Cafeteria Catholic” who hasn’t practiced her religion in many years…which is unfortunate since I went to Catholic school for almost a decade where I learned its teachings, where we went to confession regularly, attended First Friday Mass, had stations of The Cross during Lent. And even though I don’t go to church anymore I can still recite mass pretty much from beginning to end.
It’s been a longtime since I’ve made a concerted effort to fit God into my life. I’m not proud of that, really — I’m not sure how I feel about it, to be honest. Anyway, Red Wine Gums blog is interesting because he writes about his life in regards to his beliefs — something quite refreshing. I can also imagine being a Christian can be somewhat challenging in today’s society.
But he doesn’t only write of those things. His blog is sometimes light and funny; other times thoughtful and thought-provoking. And he is an excellent writer — his writing is very descriptive, full of imagery, yet still a little ambiguous at times as it leaves the reader (or at least me) wanting to know, what exactly did he mean by that?
One of my favorite posts of his is this one. It’s just good writing. I’ll let it speak for itself.
This blogger Q & A experiment has been fun. Red Wine Gums still wouldn’t let me get the last word on the 100 Things about Me question. But, so be it. :) Also, I thought it was interesting how he makes a reference to Cary Elwes as an actor who he might want to play him in a movie. I think of Cary Elwes’ character in the Princess Bride, who always told his princess, “As you wish….” I can imagine that Red Wine Gums will be as dedicated to his future wife. I’ve never met Red Wine Gums but I know he’s good people.
Like I said, in Markalan’s post, I kind of had an idea of what to expect from ‘working’ with each of you. Now I hope he doesn’t mind, but I want to poke a little ‘fun’ at RWG here. With him, based from what I ‘know’ of him and how he writes, I knew this process would take longer than the others. He is a perfectionist (not my word, it’s his; he has mentioned this about himself) and I knew every ‘i’ would need to be dotted and every ‘t’ would need to be crossed…at least twice. But what came out was a Q & A that reflects his blog and his writing — well-written and thoughtful. I hope you enjoy reading it.
One more thing. I think he was (at first) a little surprised that my ‘voice’ would be intermingled with his and wondered if it would ‘work’. Rightfully so, I guess. His voice is very different from mine. Still, it’s something that I’d like my readers to hear because people (including myself) would have normally bypassed it. I’m glad he stumbled upon my blog and commented a while back. If he hadn’t, I would have not been able to enjoy his writing and insight.
Want to learn more about Red Wine Gums and his writing? Well, read on…
Do you consider yourself a writer?
Not really. I consider myself as someone who could become a writer. I’ve always enjoyed writing from a young age particularly creative writing in school. Familial obligations at this point require me to mention that my father and uncle won prizes for poetry when they were young. My paternal grandfather was described as an orator and his father was a successful politician as well so it’s in the veins. I like the idea of engaging with an audience particularly through a speech where you try to persuade them on an issue. For me, blogging is essentially a process someone does for themselves. I am amazed that anyone is even remotely interested in what I write about but you always want more people to read it. Comments are what make a blog though. It’s always exciting to see what someone had to say
I think it is interesting how you say, “become a writer”. When put that way (even though I know you didn’t mean it that way), it makes me think of it as if it’s a journey with an end. It’s not really…more of a process, I think, a continual evolution because even ‘writers’ (i.e. those with published works) are still “becoming”, right?
I think you can become a writer and then you improve at writing. I suppose it reflects my wider views on art and life. I remember where we did a group painting in church as part of an expression of worship during an all night prayer thing. One of my good friends, who is an art student, would go around ‘echoing’ what other people had painted on the canvas. He essentially painted over it and did his own thing. His understanding of art is that anyone can call anything art. But it can be crap art. And I don’t think art should be crap. I prefer to be inspired by art in whatever medium the artist expresses him or herself. It’s like saying you’re a horse rider because you rode a donkey at the beach on a holiday. People devote themselves to things. And a truly passionate artist devoted to their work can affect change in ways we can’t imagine.
I can tell you’ve enjoyed writing from a young age. It’s very apparent in your posts. Also, apparently, it’s in your bloodline!
It’s hard to escape your family at times 
Comments are definitely key! Do you feel people may be intimidated to comment because of how you write or the blog content?
I think so. A lot of what I write about is very personal. People can be afraid to interact for fear that they will offend me. They can also be afraid to interact because they simply don’t know what to say. My views on virginity for instance can be intimidating to those who come from a small town but haven’t practiced that themselves. I’m a Christian and that label carries a lot of baggage these days. People might not comment because they think it’s worthless or again because I evoke certain feelings in them. I’m not going to presume anything in this regard. All I know is that trying to define me via conventional labels doesn’t always work.
How long have you been blogging?
I have been blogging for three years now. A friend said I should start. He mentioned it on a few occasions and then I asked him how you do it. The rest as they say is history.
What prompted you to start a blog?
It just happened. I always wanted to have a diary but I had nosy younger brothers. A blog ironically feels more secure. The ludicrousness of it being available to strangers doesn’t seem to enter the equation. An online hit can’t hurt you.
What would cause you to stop blogging?
It’s hard to know. I’ve given up on trying to anticipate life. Not worth the effort and you tend to get it wrong anyway. I think there’s two possible ways that certainly could occur. My career and positions I end up in would simply mean that this blog would prove too much of a liability if discovered. It could be used against me. The other way I see it coming to a sudden end is if something I blog would hurt someone in my life or one of my friends. I’m not sure I could continue in those circumstances. I feel I like to blog. I’m not going to say I’ll keep doing it forever but I’d like to think the friends I’ve made over the past 3 years would always be some small part of my life
How do you go about composing your blogs? Do you write/draft them in advance or just write when the mood strikes?
I just tend to write as the mood takes me. My blog is about me and my life. If something sits in my head or I want to vent on an issue I just start typing. There’s no rule as such. Most of what you read is all typed up and posted in one session. Sometimes a blog post will start composing in my head as I’m walking around or experiencing a situation. Occasionally if I get distracted while typing it up (yes, this is you late night conversation people) I’ll save it and come back to it. That can mean a post will take ages to come out, if at all, because I don’t like to publish unless the post sits with my mood. I read over them once or twice depending on how significant the issue is. What I find really frustrating is noticing typos a few days after I published it. Drives me insane. Of course I should just use the spell checker as well. Most of the posts would have been created an hour or so before they were published. The exceptions are posts like Linkie Goodness. I tend to work on them during the week as I find interesting stuff to come across.
How would you describe your blogging style?
Honest, open, occasionally poingant sprinkled with silliness.
How often do you keep your audience in mind when writing a post? Do you write mostly for them or for you?
I write for me. I am aware of the audience so on occasion I will clarify or explain certain aspects but I write for me. If you were to ask me though would I write as much if the audience was not there I’d have to say no. It’s something I wonder about sometimes.
Kind of makes me think of that saying, “If a tree falls in the woods and no one hears it, does it make a sound?”
It makes a noise but only if someone else hears it can it really make a sound
What’s the most annoying thing/challenging thing about blogging?
Writing what you think is a great post and no-one comments. Then a stupid post that you only did because of happenstance has everyone saying stuff. That’s annoying. I think the most challenging aspect to blogging is when what you blog, speaking for personal bloggers, clashes with the real world i.e. the person you write about reads it or you get quoted out of context. Not really happened to me but I’m aware of the possibility. Like a lot of things in life both good and bad can come of it. Once you treat people with respect you should be fine. I try not to blog about other people. I try to blog about myself and limit the mention of other people to the fact I encountered them. It can be difficult to do that.
I feel the same way about certain posts I’ve labored over and I think they’re great and NO ONE comments! I often think, “What’s the deal??”
In my opinion it could be down to what we’ve discussed earlier. People might feel that to comment would detract from the post. They can’t find the words to say or simply feel they are not in a position to do so. Or, and let’s not fool ourselves as we mutually back slap one another, the post could just be a crap post
A cool thing about it?
Connecting with people. I love it. It’s great.
If any of your real life friends and family know about your blog, has any of what you write in it affected your relationship, i.e. “what did you mean when you said that in your blog?”, etc.?
There are three friends who I gave the blog url in order to keep me accountable in terms of what I write. On another incarnation most of my wider friends were able to read it. I found it frustrating because conversations starting with, “I read something on your blog…” often turned into me defending what I had written or seeking to clarify and explain. I also felt that I couldn’t write as free as I once was able to. I felt it inhibited what I said. I have told those three to take what I write with a pinch of salt. I blog to sort things out in my head and to vent a lot of the time. What you see in the darker posts is the extreme of my thinking and what I am feeling.
What are pet peeves when reading a blog?
No About Page. No means to contact the person outside their blog. Poor grammar, punctuation and spelling. Annoying templates that make it difficult to read the content. Everyone has their own vexations. Someone probably hates X, Y & Z about my blog like
Any funny things/new experiences that have come out of blogging which you’d care to share?
Yes but I’d have to kill you
There isn’t ANYTHING you can share? 
That’s for me to know and you to find out
Oddest search term for your blog? Most frequent?
Oddest: “did undertakers wife have a baby” - Honest to God
Most Frequent: “red wine gums” - Ironic I know
Do you find yourself censoring yourself at times? And when you do, why?
Occasionally only. Obviously I like to keep things anonymous enough so that is censure on one level. I also don’t like to talk about other people too much if I can avoid it. I haven’t blogged everything that’s gone on in my life but it’s pretty much all there in some shape or form
What is one of your own favorite posts?
I don’t have a favourite per se. I just like to feel I’ve written a good post every now and then. To parphrase a sporting analogy I believe has some relevance, “You’re only as good as your last post.”
I like your usage of sports analogy here.
We both are ’sports fans.’ I think it’s good for people to be involved in sports. It brings people together most of the time. It can teach us a lot about life. People get to participate. The ordinary man or woman on the street. I would argue with my art student friend above that a soccer match can be a form of art. There is nothing that even comes close to the passion and the drama. It’s not elitist. Some like to fool us into thinking that our lack of understanding of a piece of art makes us less intelligent. People have paid hideous amounts of money for ridiculous things. But for an artist to make it all he needs to do is convince one rich idiot that she’s a genius
What is one thing you’d like your readers to know about you that might not come across in your blogging?
I really am married to an Orthodox Jewish girl 
Then I guess I really should say, Mazel Tov!
Keep an eye on the announcements section of your local newspaper
What other websites (non-blogs) do you frequent daily?
News sites pretty much. Were politics not the career it is you’d probably get a lot more political stuff on here. BBC, Al-Jazeera and a big bunch of newspapers as well
If your blog were to be optioned for a television show or movie, which actors would play the characters in your life?
I’ve always thought about this question as one that I would be clueless if asked. I think I would like Jamie Bamberto play me. That has more to do though with the character of Lee Adama then Bamber himself. I like to think that if I didn’t have curly hair I’d look a small bit like him but then I do wear glasses. Another possibility then is Cary Elwes but that’s only down to the fact he’s in Robin Hood: Men in Tights and The Princess Bride.
AS YOU WISH!! The Princess Bride. One of the best movies ever.
See - I knew I liked you
What do you do when you feel you’ve gotten a comment that seems to be ‘attacking’ you?
“Really you cared that much! Awwww. That’s sweet.” I suppose there’s a difference between attacking what you’ve written and attacking you. Disagreeing with me is fine. You can disagree and still have respect for a person. To my mind an argument involves both sides losing control of their emotions. Everything else is just a disagreement or a discussion. I’ll delete any comments I feel are unwarranted or just plain insulting. Also a comment that attacks a person is just plain bad logic. Don’t feed the trolls. Freedom of choice. They don’t have to read this blog. As is often heard at training sessions of sporting teams: “What do ye think this is? A f****** democracy?”
What kind of blog writing styles do you find interesting?
Styles that help you picture what’s going on. Or a blogger who really opens up and shares their heart. A style that lets you into their world. I also like blogs on theology and politics that aren’t stupidly heavy or just stupidly stupid. I love photo blogs as well. Love photo blogs. Could look at them all day. Try not to subscribe to too many of those
What are your thoughts on people’s “100 Things About Me” pages/posts?
I love reading them. Pain in the ass to do though.
My thoughts on it are this…in a few posts I could get to know 100 things about a person. Why spell it out for us readers? I mean, then why would I read their blog if they sum themselves up nicely in 100 bullet points?
A lot of assumptions there girl. You assume that they’ve told you everything in that list. You assume that list means what it says on the surface and that there isn’t hidden meaning in what people have put down there. I think they are useful as a snapshot but you need to see a person ruminate and elucidate on an issue to truly get into their head. I think the lists are a teaser and the blog is the main course.
Yeah, well sometimes the appetizer, teaser, whatever you call it, sucks. Sometimes, when it sucks, the “main course” is actually quite good. Or the reverse happens - the 100 list is very interesting, but the blog? Not so much.
Did you have a bad experience with a 100 list in your childhood? Just wondering…
Lastly, do you have any questions you’d like me to answer or anything you’d like to add?
I’d just like to add what a pleasure it’s been doing this little jaunt and hope you can answer this question in an ode to the long lost childhoodof an Irish blog: Simon or Garfunkel?
Simon.
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Thanks RWG for particpating. If you like what you heard, check him out at Random Reflective Rantings. Oh! I forgot another added little bonus. He sometimes audio blogs so if you like a real Irish brogue, you’ll be in for a treat! 
