Part II in a III part series, today, I’m answering the questions you had about my blog, and blogging in general.

Why do you blog? – RA
It started as a project to document my last 30 days of living in New York City, and otherwise it fits me perfectly, because I love to write, but I hate dealing with shit like plots, characters, proofreading, and grammar. (I’m sort of kidding about that…)

Question: Who are the people in the header photograph? Who is taking the picture? – Tucker
I will neither confirm nor deny who the people in the photograph are, or who took the picture. But thanks for asking again!

Am I the only one who doesn’t know what Reddit is? – Stefanie
No, I had never heard of it either until That Fateful Day. Erikka didn’t know, either…

what is reddit? do i want to try to google that shit? – Erikka
From what I’ve now learned, Reddit itself isn’t so bad, it was created in the mold of Digg, but slightly different, because it rewards people for creative commenting. But because of that, it’s attracted extremely opinionated and judgmental people who compete to say the most outrageous thing, feelings of other people be damned. A lot of the things they say are on the intellectual level commenting “First!” on a post. So the site itself is fine, but don’t try to click through to the blogs on any of the commenters, because if they did leave a URL, it will take you to some nasty place of the world where you don’t want to be.

Sure makes you appreciate the “regular” commenters in this little corner of the blogsphere, doesn’t it? – Liz
I appreciated them before, but now I do so even more. People who are part of a constructive conversation are so much more interesting than those who attack for the sake of it.

I missed the comment extravaganza. What is going on with all the blog drama this week? – Jenn
I missed what happened on the other blogs, but it seems like the people who hang out in the seedy underbelly of the internet are encroached on the corner of the internet where girls who wear glasses write personal blogs about their lives. It was a lot like the time I went to the bathroom in 4th grade and the mean girl pushed me into the wall as I left. Really, there was no purpose, and she didn’t really hurt me, and I wonder if it made her feel better about herself for a few hours.

Seriously – what’s not to like about a woman who creates a Ken Doll still motion version of The Ruins? - John
I get really bad gas when I eat soy products, and as a vegetarian, I eat a lot of soy.

Question: Is any part of “Noelle Tannenbaum” your real name or is the whole thing made up? If the latter, how did you come up with it? – Howling Hill
As you now know, it’s not my real name. When I started blogging, the name of my blog was actually, “{My Real Name} in the city.” But after a month or so, I started to worry that I was being a little to personal about myself and my friends, so I went back into the archives and gave everyone nicknames. I had already come up with the name “Daily Tannenbaum” for the new blog I was going to write when I moved to the Christmas Tree farm, so I decided to go with the moniker “Noelle” to keep up the Christmas theme (although I spelled it “Noel” until a co-worker pointed out that only boys spell it that way.) When I signed up for the blog, it asked for my last name, so I just put in “Tannenbaum,” and a full name was born. The first time I emailed with Aaron, he pointed out that my name meant “Christmas Christmas Tree,” so sometimes you’ll see me referred to as that, or “CCT” for short in certain corners of the blogosphere.
If you go to my “Cast of Characters” tab, you’ll see how I came up with some of the other nicknames of friends who get mentioned here.

After the jump, questions I’ll get to next time:

GENERAL QUESTIONS

Seriously: are there that many people in the world who can’t tell the difference between humor and reality? – NPW

If you could have one talent that you do not have, what would you like it to be? – DOK

Okay, so here’s a question — were you to actually dine in hell, who would you want on the dinner party list? – Allie

If the guys from 300 are in your Sparta, please let me know as soon as possible. No reason… – Ben

What is the best thing about the city in which you live? Have you ever considered taking up rock climbing across the river at the Gunks (I relate everything to climbing somehow)? – Mickey

What are you reading now?
What’s your biggest pet peeve? – RA

(1) If you were a doughnut, what kind would you be? – Lara

1. What is Reddit?
2. What is your favorite book?
3. What actress would play you in a movie about your life? – Kristabella

I second the who would play you in the Noelle Tannenbaum biopic question. That’s a good one. Maybe expand on it by picking an actress for the young you and an actress for the decrepit wheelchair bound old you. – Jennifer

How do you want to be portrayed in Beej for Hire? Do you even want to be? I haven’t included the “Noelle” character yet, and I’m wondering if you have any requests. You may answer this on your own time, and not via blog, if you so choose. – Aaron