Again, L. This time, she actually tagged me.

1. What philosophy appeals most to you? Why?
   I actually don’t know that much about philosophy. So I don’t know if this will be the absolute valid-forever answer. Anyway, I’m a fan of Kant. His categorical imperative appeals to my common sense.
   Phenomenology is another thing that I find interesting. As is existentialism. And deconstruction.
   But I guess that mostly it’s a cherry picking thing for me. Maybe I should make my own philosophical theory.
     
2. And which religion? Why?
   Uhhmm… atheist here. That said, I think that all religions have their good parts and their bad parts. I like the live-and-let-live approach buddhism has. I like Jesus’ non-violence teachings. But I don’t seriously believe that there’s some kind of deity floating around [I’m sorry, Spaghetti Monster]. I think that religion is based on stories and that we can learn a lot from these stories, if we care to think critical about them.
   Problems only arise with blind faith and (forced) conversion.  
     
3. What are the three most impressive artworks you’ve ever seen? Describe what the made you feel like.
   1. René Magritte‘s L’empire des lumières
   
   I love Magritte in general, but this painting in particular. The first time I saw it, it took me a couple of minutes to realise what was “wrong” with it. I like how it screws with my mind and the eons of fantasies it opens for me.
     
   2. Auguste Rodin‘s Kiss
   
   I went to the Musée Rodin in school, must have been 8 years ago. While I thought the Thinker impressive, this sculpture touched my heart. There’s this trust between those two lovers and their passion that is somehow very obvious. Also, the details show that it’s not only a work about love but also of love.
      
   3. Victor Vasarely’s Cubes [I don’t think it’s the actual title, but I don’t know]
   
   While people mostly know his Zebras, I found his various cube drawings simply eye-opening. I just never knew before Vasarely that you could do these things. Use colours that way, use shapes that way. Simply put, Vasarely translates maths into art. And at heart, I’m a maths geek, even though my brain doesn’t really know what to do with it.
   Anyway, I looked at this picture and it opened a whole new world of possibilities for me. And I loved it.
   [I got my own imitations of his work, but they never were that good.]
     
4. Your three favorite scenes in a book?
   That’s a hard one. First of all, there are many cool scenes. Second, my memory sucks when it comes to things like these. And third, how the hell should I choose?
   Well, here I go anyway, in no particular order.
     
   1. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (Douglas Adams)
   Zaphod and Marvin in the Guide’s office on Ursa Minor Beta. [The doors! Roosta!]
   [But thinking about it, there are at least a hundred great scenes in these books.]
     
   2. Abhorsen (Garth Nix)
   [SPOILERS!]
     
   The “death” of the Disreputable Dog. Holy shit, I cried my eyes out. Of course, this scene wouldn’t be half as good if the preceeding series wasn’t that great. But still.
     
   [End SPOILERS]
      
   3. One Hundred Years of Solitude (Gabriel García Márquez)
   It’s a little bit more than a scene, but not much: I loved Mauricio’s and Meme’s story. So beautiful, so tragic, so many butterflies. *sigh*
     
   Bonus Scene: see here.
     
   And these are only the ones that came right into my head. If I’d think a little bit more about it, I’ll probably give you a favourite 100.

So, that’s it. Feel free to use and pass it along.