How do you role?

A couple of weeks ago, Lauren presented me with a very impressively thought out list of her celebrity role models. Since then, I've been trying to figure out my own. It's surprisingly tough! Especially since it's made me realize that, at least at a distance, I will happily disregard some fairly major vices. Drugs? Whatever. Infidelity? Meh. Murder? Could be worse.

Here's a couple of people that I've come up with so far. Unlike Lauren, I don't have them in any particular order, because I am not that organized. Also unlike Lauren, there are no cats on my list. But that's a failing of mine and mine alone--no one else should be held accountable.

I'm going to say that I'm sorry in advance for this being pretty self-absorbed. I'm basically just trying to work this out for myself, because role models really do have a huge effect on how we live our lives and even the sorts of thoughts that limp through our minds.

(Quick disclaimer--as far as I know, no one on this list has committed murder. Even if they did, I probably would ignore it. Because that's how apathetically I roll.)

1.) Vince Noir
Obviously I really like Noel Fielding. A lot. But I want to BE Vince Noir, his main character on The Mighty Boosh. Not only can he pull off glittery sequined David Bowie-style jumpsuits, but he is indisputably a sunshine-person. Things just sort of...work for him. I would love that to be an aspect of my life. I wish that was something that I could work towards, but I think you have to be born into the cherished ranks of the sunshine people. I'm gonna keep hoping, anyway. Maybe one day I'll be able to fit into a one of his jumpsuits.

2.) Simon Amstell
Whenever I watch an episode of Never Mind the Buzzcocks, which happens pretty much whenever I have some time to kill, I'm always floored by the way he always has a comeback ready. That takes skill, but more than that, that takes smarts! For a tiny, skinny little man, he really is pretty damn fearless, taking on pop stars with entourages and managers and rabid fan bases, and he always, always comes out on top.

Also, I want to cuddle him. And pat his hair.

3.) Alanna
That's right, from the fantasy YA series. She kicks ass, she takes names--she taught me at a very early age that ladies is pimps, too! I do seriously believe that reading these books had a very profound molding effect on my life. Yes, I was horrifically nerdy as a young girl, but I also had very little patience for the stereotypically "girly" stuff. Even now, when people profess their love for things like that, something in the back of my mind goes, "Hahahahahaha." And I kind of like that.



4.) Tina Fey
Of course. Alanna may have taught me that ladies is pimps too, but Tina Fey taught me that "bitch is the new black," and that it's perfectly possible for a woman to have it all. I mean, come on! She's got a successful show, she's famous in her own right, she's got a certain amount of traction in a business that it's very difficult to have any traction whatsoever in, she's happily married, she's got a kid...for someone who plays a perpetual sadsack (whose life has many uncomfortable similarities to my own) on television, she's gone pretty much the opposite direction in reality.

5.) Terry Pratchett
It breaks my heart that he has Alzheimer's. It really does. His books are only second to Tamora Pierce's in the number of times I've re-read them--and that number is only growing. Terry Pratchett is a writer who just sort of effortlessly combines wacky fantasy conventions with really thought-provoking subject matter. Men at Arms, Monstrous Regiment, The Truth, The Fifth Elephant...I cycle them in and out of my dorm room at school because, even though I am at college, even though I'm not supposed to have time for extracurricular reading, I WILL read his books. I'll pick them up and leaf through them, I'll bring them to work with me, I'll read them while I eat. They all have spines that show more wear and tear than they don't. Their pages are wrinkled and stained, the covers are really flimsy because they've been bent so many times. He's a magical writer who has shown me that it's perfectly plausible to make fantastical premises work in a way that people can relate to in a day-to-day way. I honestly can't speak highly enough of him. In a significant way, I feel like Terry Pratchett is how my brain works, and that's just fine with me.

6.) Helen Mirren
IS SHE A WIZARD? HOW THE HELL IS SHE DOING IT?!? SHE IS SO AWESOME AND SO COOL AND SO BEAUTIFUL AND GAH.

Helen Mirren, you are a cheeky minx. One day I will be as cheeky and minx-like as you. I will look as good as you, and I will star in serious period-pieces that win me Academy Awards, but I will also be in movies with whoever the equivalent of Russell Brand is.

(On a side-note, I am possibly looking forward to the Arthur remake more than any other upcoming movie. Just watch the trailer. Helen Mirren + Russell Brand + David Bowie soundtrack = Caitlin's kryptonite.)

7.) Joel Hodgson
Joel Hodgson was one of the creators of the weird 90's show Mystery Science Theater 3000. I pretty much worship him for coming up with one of the most off-beat and creative shows that ever was broadcast. I mean, can you even imagine the pitch for this program? "So there's this guy...and two wisecracking robot friends. One is a gumball dispenser. And they sit around a space station and make jokes about bad scifi B-movies from the 1950s and 60s."

No way that would fly these days. But this show ran for TEN SEASONS. And it seemed so much like something these guys had thrown together in their garage. That's fantastic--that's part of the magic behind The Evil Dead, behind every movie and TV show that seems like it was made from elbow grease and innovation and resourcefulness and a really small crew who just cared.

I'm still trying to come up with other names for this list, because I know that there are tons. But it's fun to just try to figure it out, you know? Why your brain works the way it does, who you're trying to--either consciously or subconsciously--become.