Guest Blog: Fantasy Boyfriend

I’ve been running around like a chicken with a head cut off for the Blogathon over at my own blog, but I did get to poke my head in a couple hours ago to see Melanie blogging about her dream boyfriends. I had really no idea what I was going to write about here, but after chatting over Ridiculously Sexist Things From the Internet (like this), I figured it out: I’d write about one of the longest-standing members of my own Boyfriend List. My boyfriend list has always been astoundingly small – too many real-life objects of affection taking all my precious dreaming energy – but one guy’s been on it for coming on ten years now.

Who could this be, you wonder? I’m a smart girl, and I have high standards. Who could captivate my attention for a month, let alone close to ten years? I’m not the kind that’ll wag my tail for eye candy alone, but I’ve also been known to quote Oscar Wilde on judging people on their looks (i.e. only shallow people don’t).

I won’t leave you in any more suspense: I’ve had a crush on Duncan Sheik since I was 16.

I’m not going to bother explaining who he is to you. If you know, you know; if you don’t, Wikipedia is your friend.)

How much is there to say? He’s a Buddhist, writes and sings some really incredible, goosebump-inducing songs (often about the universe), and studied semiotics at Brown University. Yes, that’s right, the study of signs and symbols. That’s the sort of abstract thinking that sends shivers up my spine.

He’s certainly still a singer-songwriter, but I’ve also been fascinated by the way he took what previously was a criticism against his music – that he was distant or overly objective – and capitalized on it in a way that made total sense for him: in turning musical theatre on its head. He won a Tony Award for his work on the score of Spring Awakening, and I’m quite enamoured with his latest project, Whisper House.

Also, I suspect he has a seriously geeky streak: there’s a curiously homespun touch to his podcast for Whisper House, and he’s totally with it when it comes to DRM and remix culture – in 2006, he released his album with two discs: one called Mine, with his produced version of his songs, and one called Yours, which contained tracks for people to remix and remake into their own songs.

I won’t regale you with the tale of having my little teenage dream fulfilled when I met Duncan in Vancouver, or when I say him two nights in a row in Portland and Seattle this past February. I’ll just saw, that were it not for Duncan Sheik, I would not have nearly as good an idea as I do now, for what intelligent males sound like when they talk. Guys don’t have to spout poetry, but in the hundreds of hours spent with Duncan’s songs, I’d like to think that I’ve learned to listen for spirit.

…what more could a girl ask for?

Karen Quinn Fung is a public space advocate, and a passionate transit map reformer.  She’s helped to organize more than one unconferencfe within Vancouver, thereby giving activist nerds across the city (including myself) something to do with their weekends!  She’s also about as cute as a button, and writes a highly entertaining and informative blog.