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About Us: Josie Kafka

Here is the next installment in our About Us Interview series.

Josie Kafka reviews Fringe, Game of Thrones, The Vampire Diaries, retro Community (with Mark), and Threshold. In August she'll finish up Twin Peaks, too.

What area of the world do you live in, and what do you do? (Because we all know you don't make any money doing this.)

We don’t make any money doing this?!

If we just handed you a million dollars (you never know), what would you spend it on?

In this order: Student loans. House (with land and no mortgage). A book-shopping spree. A clothes-shopping spree. One of those ornate cat jungle gyms. A flat-screen TV. Some to my mom so she can pay off her mortgage and finally retire.

My little brother and I agreed years ago that if one of us one the lottery, we would give 10% to the other. Joe, you’ve got $100,000 coming your way!

Another 10% to charity. Heifer.org, maybe. $100,000 will buy a lot of llamas.

Whatever is left goes into savings. Because I am that boring, and have just spent my imaginary million trying to claw my way into the middle class.

What random skill would our readers be surprised to know you have?

Apparently, I’m good at spending money I don’t have.

I’m not sure if this counts as a skill, but I can drive for a really, really long time without falling asleep. I think my record is 24 hours (Texas was involved). If it weren’t for the cats, I’d consider a career as a long-haul trucker.

(It took me eight weeks to think of that skill. This is a very depressing self-interview.)

Are you a dog person or a cat person, or is there another animal involved?

Cat person. (Although I don’t look like a cat person. I look Time Lord.) Humans are okay, too, but only sometimes and only if they don’t scratch the couch.

What show would recommend everyone finally get around to watching this summer?

Threshold isn’t great, but it’s fun to recognize all of your favorite SF character actors. If you watch Twin Peaks, you will turn your geek credibility up to eleven. Ditto the original Prisoner. And Eureka is a charming undiscovered SF gem with heart and comedy in equal measure. In unrelated news, we are reviewing Threshold, Twin Peaks, The Prisoner, and Eureka this summer.

Awake was cool, too.

I also recently re-watched Lost, which I talked about here. I recommend a re-watch or a first-watch.

Of all the shows we don't cover, list your: (1) guilty pleasure, (2) favorite reality show, and (3) favorite from childhood.

1. I refuse to feel guilty about what I find pleasurable. The concept of a “guilty pleasure” is linked to the Protestant work ethic, which is a terrible, miserable way to live for those of us who don’t expect a heavenly reward for a lifetime of depriving ourselves and feeling smug about it. I prefer to feel smug about not feeling smug. Hey, is that a skill?

2. Storage Wars.

3. This is a tough question. Although I was too old to take it seriously, Saved by the Bell was a great after-school bonding activity with my little brother for quite a few years. (He wanted to be Zach when he got into high school.) Even further back, I was obsessed with She-Ra and Fraggle Rock. My So-Called Life deserves a shout-out, too, because otherwise this list is embarrassing.

There was also a show about a boy who lived in a house with a eucalyptus tree outside. A koala lived in the tree, and he and the boy went on adventures. No one I know has ever heard of this show, and I can’t remember the name. I will give some of my million dollars to anyone who can tell me what it’s called. Or who can give me a job in Australia, because that sounds wonderful.

Fill in the blanks: If ___ weren't already reviewing ___, I'd want to do it.

Panda, Once Upon a Time
Drnanamom, The Walking Dead
Billie, Justified

Which character do you identify with the most?

This is a difficult question, and I’m tempted to repeat my answer from our last Q&A: Wesley Wyndam-Price, because I tend toward cynical self-defeatism, rely more on my own intellect (what there is of it) than on the kindness of others, and am a tragic romantic at heart. Plus, I look sexy after I haven’t shaved for a few days.

But I was recently described by one colleague as “vivacious,” which horrifies me, and by another as “too eager to please,” which breaks my feminist heart into tiny pieces of painful glass. (I didn’t say anything, of course, because I didn’t want to displease the person who told me that.) So I’m currently caught in a muddle: identity vs. presentation. Therefore, I’m going with Rosalind from As You Like It.


What is your favorite television show of all time? (Okay, top five will do if you can't narrow it down to one.)

This list reflects shows that I can watch again and again without ever getting bored. Because that’s a good enough definition of “favorite,” right?

1. Angel
2. Buffy
3. Okay, I guess that list was shorter than I expected it to be.


You are hosting a dinner party for eight twelve TV characters and/or actors. Who would you invite?

Raylan Givens (Justified), Lorne (Angel), Tyrion Lannister (Game of Thrones), Captain Mal Reynolds (Firefly), Ben Linus (Lost), Ianto Jones (Torchwood), Special Agent Dale Cooper and Major Garland Briggs (Twin Peaks), Logan Echolls (Veronica Mars), Damon Salvatore (The Vampire Diaries), Fox Mulder (X-Files), and Felicia Day (everything else).

I like ‘em sassy and well dressed.



Next week: Mark!

26 comments:

  1. wow

    You're funny.

    I'm still available to wash the dishes for that supper too, although I don't know half the list (yes, shame on me).

    I'm good at painting too. Walls. Of course.

    And I've started season 2, just the first 5 minutes LOL

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  2. Dance your cares away
    Worry's for another day
    Let the music play
    Down at Fraggle Rock
    Work your cares away
    Dancing's for another day
    Let the Fraggles play
    We're Gobo, Mokey, Wembley, Boober, Red
    Dance your cares away
    Worry's for another day
    Let the music play
    Down at Fraggle Rock

    Down at Fraggle Rock

    Sorry, you mentioned Fraggle Rock and I just got carried away.

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  3. Great photo! And, I like them sassy as well.

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  4. I'd be chuffed if someone described me as vivacious. It's a damn sight better than low-key, contemplative, and pooey. (My cousin's choice of words.) You want to swap?

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  5. Paul, let's swap. Is the cousin included in the deal?

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  6. I love this blog (and the crazy people in it) more and more with each passing day....

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  7. No skills?!?! P-sha...you can write, and you are funny! "We don’t make any money doing this?!" had me laughing from the very start.
    I re-read your Lost re-watch post, and decided that maybe I will try it all again after maybe another year. I hope the finale sits better with me the 2nd time around, as apparently it did with you. I am still waiting for ChrisB's take though...
    So Twin Peaks ups my geek rating to eleven? What if I watched it when it was originally on? I had broken up with the then-boyfriend, moved out of our house, and was living on my own for the first time...and I remember being SO HAPPY that I could watch the show in peace without someone next to me making snide comments. I was happy about other things too, of course, but funny that sticks with me.

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  8. I love the weird things that stick with us. One of the worst break-ups I ever had--the first thing I think of when I remember it is the haircut I got after. :-)

    ChrisB did post her comment a few minutes ago on the last Lost episode review, and it's wonderful. :-)

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  9. She's all yours, Josie... or should I say low-key, contemplative, poopie kaka head. (P.S. She's 12, going on 4... in case you couldn't tell.)

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  10. Some great answers there Josie! I particularly like the idea of Lorne as a party guest, he'd be great entertainment, no?

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  11. I think the name of the koala show was Noozles or The Wonderous Koala Blinky (can't remember which name it went by in the US). I watched it too and really liked that show. If you win a million bucks I'll be sure to look for my share. ;)

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  12. That was such fun. I agree with Sooze, you are hilarious! I loved "My So-Called Life" but I think it was too intense for the American viewing public at the time. It would probably do well on HBO these days. I also love Fraggle Rock and the fact that Mark knows all the words :). I also agree that "vivacious" is good, not to mention that most of the feminists I know are also eager to please because they are nice women who like it when people feel good even if they are jerks who want you to feel bad for it.

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  13. That was such fun. I agree with Sooze, you are hilarious! I loved "My So-Called Life" but I think it was too intense for the American viewing public at the time. It would probably do well on HBO these days. I also love Fraggle Rock and the fact that Mark knows all the words :). I also agree that "vivacious" is good, not to mention that most of the feminists I know are also eager to please because they are nice women who like it when people feel good even if they are jerks who want you to feel bad for it.

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  14. Joanie, this is going to sound crazy, but I think Noozles is another koala animated show from the 80s. I just watched the credits, and it didn't look familiar at all:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEZVaD1psOE

    Could there possibly have been two imaginary-koala-adventure shows back then? You'd think one would be enough.

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  15. I haven't seen either koala-show, but I had a feeling Wikipedia could help. (Wikipedia can almost always help). So I looked up Noozles and - lo and behold - Wikipedia did mention another koala-adventure series from the same time-period, and even gave an explanation as to why there are two of them!

    (Quote from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adventures_of_the_Little_Koala) In 1984, the Tama Zoo in western Tokyo welcomed its first koala, and the government of Australia sent six koalas to Japan as a token of goodwill. As a result, according to The Anime Encyclopedia by Jonathan Clements and Helen McCarthy, Japan went into a koala frenzy and anything to do with koalas became very popular. It was during this "koala-mania" that the Noozles was made, as was another anime, コアラボーイ コッキィ(Koala Boy Kokki), which would later be broadcast alongside Noozles on Nickelodeon's Nick Jr. block in 1988, as Adventures of the Little Koala. (End of quote)

    So, Josie, was it "Adventures of the Little Koala?

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  16. Josie,it is very possible that there were more than one koala shows on TV at one time. My next guess was gonna be the one Jonathan mentioned below, Adventures of the Little Koala but it didn't look familiar to me so I guessed the one that did. :)

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  17. I think Jonathan should get an award for that incredible history on koala shows, and I think Josie should name said award, because she is so darn funny.

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  18. Yes! It is Adventures of the Little Koala! And I did watch it on Nick Jr.!

    Jonathan, you get 10% of the million dollars. You also get an honorary Koalawalaward. The prize for the Koalawalaward is one large, full-grown koala, packaged in a durable kangaroo surrounded by bubble wrap. Joanie, I'm sending you a baby koala, too, as well as some bubble wrap.

    I recommend teaching the koalas how much fun it is to pop bubble wrap. I think they'll like it.

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  19. Yikes. Thanks to that description of the award packaging, I'm now getting images reminiscent of frozen tontons. Gross. I don't think I'd be opening that award, if I were you, Jonathan. Especially if you thought kangaroos smelled bad on the outside. (Maybe you could still enjoy the bubble wrap.)

    A fun interview, Josie! I'm always glad to know that I'm not alone in my practicality with imaginary money. :)

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  20. Jess, what is a tonton? Wikipedia was less than useful for that one. Unless you're referring to a character from the Jordinian version of the Muppets.

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  21. Spelling error. Should be "tauntaun." I've never had to spell that one before, and for some reason it was always "tonton" in my brain. Bad Star Wars nerd, bad.

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  22. I did like the mental image of a frozen Muppet.

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  23. Wait a second, there's more than one animated show about a cute koala bear? You learn something new every day...

    This was crazy funny, Josie, as well as being real insightful. Great show/life choices, too. I bought the collector's edition My So Called Life DVD collection a couple of years back but haven't gotten around to actually watching it, despite it being so far in my wheelhouse that it's almost embarrassing that I haven't seen it. The boxset itself is awful attractive, if that's anything.

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  24. Ahhhhhhhh

    My So Called Life

    Starring a very, very young Claire Danes. Another jewel of my DVD collection, a great set to own.
    talk
    All of that koalas up there, LOL, reminds me of Skippy the Bush Kangaroo...What were you doin' between '67 and '70 ???

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  25. I'll gladly accept my 10% and the Koalawalaward- although I'm afraid that after the long flight in the freight compartment from the USA to Belgium, the kangaroo-wrapped koala would indeed look like a frozen tauntaun.But I'll accept it anyway, 'cause like Jess said: who can resist bubble-wrap?

    (Is there also an award for most animal-unfriendly far-fetched comment? In real life, I'm a real animal lover. I thought it might be a good idea to point that out, what with all the cats-and-dog-lovers on this website :-) )

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  26. I just love koalas so will gladly accept a baby koala and will be sure to teach it the joys of bubble wrap. ;) I think my new pug puppy and my three cats will love their new house guest. It's gonna be so much fun!

    Thanks Josie! :)

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