In Depth Questions:

Lets say you know you will live till 80. Would you give  up two years of your life for one day on the moon?

*without hesitation* “Yes. Not to get too philosophical, but there’s a lot of bad things going on in the world now,Ebola, Isis, hunger, disease, warfare. Carl Sagan in Cosmos talks about the pale blue dot, and all the things going on are on this pale blue dot. But if you slowly move away from the earth it gets smaller and smaller till you can’t see it anymore. The Earth is big, but it’s not the end all be all. This doesn’t really have to with the moon, But I do really want to go to the moon. I want to experience space. Does that make sense? I think about these things.

If you could be obscenely wealthy and powerful in any age, time, culture, or country etc…, which would it be? Roman noble?  kate in “titanic” rich? Persian king? Victorian lord? modern times? and why?

” I would choose a powerful figure during the Roman Empire, during the period of “The Five Good Emperors” (It’s a really specific period of time, and I have to emphasize that *laughs*)  because the ideas of philosophical thought influenced a powerful ruler like Marcus Aurelius.   From what I read in his journal “The Meditations” He was a noble emperor, a philosopher. He was way ahead of his time. He wasn’t guided by money or ambition, but by humility. Living like that isn’t possible now, but it was possible back then. I want to live in a time where that was still possible.  Its sad that in today’s age, ethics and morality are irrelevant in roles of leadership, and I believe its because technology and moneymaking are the dominant influences.  I think that every era has its flaws though.  Like, during the Roman Empire, slavery and death was commonplace, but in the 21st century, our problem is the overabundance of technology. But the fact that 2000 years ago someone thought like Marcus Aurelius? It makes you wonder why we can’t have that sort of leadership now.”

A morbid, dark question. A genie appears and tells you that you have a choice. You can either choose to live in solitary confinement in prison for the rest of your life or five people you don’t know and will never hear about instantly  die. Which would you choose and why?

“You know you can choose the noble way, but I like this questions because it puts idealism against realism. I would not choose Solitary confinement. I have almost been arrested, and I’ve thought about what would happen If I had to go to jail. I could do the noble thing, but I wouldn’t chose solitary confinement. That’s a fact. If I knew them that might be a different story.”

Android or IOS? What made you choose?

“I’m actually using a windows phone now”

“Yea I should really change the question. Those are a thing now”

“Yea I mean I chose android, but my Samsung S4 broke. So I had to get a cheap one till my contracts up in November”

Do you believe in God(s)? A sort of life force you couldn’t actually describe if your life depended on it?  what are your views on the statement “I believe in god but not organized religion”?

“This might sound corny, but it’s the reason I a bio major. I believe science is there to explain all the weird stuff, The phenomena that would not make sense to the human mind. I don’t get asked this question a lot, but I always told myself I would say I believe in Science. I enjoy learning about people’s beliefs and how different they are from each other.  I don’t think any belief system has more authority over the other and I have a genuine respect for others’ beliefs.  But if I were to choose my own, I would choose science as a system of understanding the world.  A “divine creator,” or a “master of the universe” is something that I would never truly touch upon, however, because that would be a difficult theory to prove.  Einstein, even though he was an important scientist believed in God; I think this is proof that science [in the case of Einstein] is not sufficient to replace religion.  The question I ask is this:  What is the difference between religion and beliefs? I would say that at one extreme, man does not need religion in his life, but he still needs to believe in something. But I do gotta say It’s hard for one man to understand this stuff.”

Who would you say are the top five best looking celebrities/models?

“Guys or girls?”

“Whichever”

“Jennifer Lawrence, April rose from “Guy Code”, I don’t want to say Adriana Lima because that’s over rated… For the record I’m straight, but guys Brad Pitt and Johnny Depp, because they don’t seem to age and they really take care of themselves…and a fifth, Yea I guess Adriana Lima”

JRR Tolkien, author of the Lord of the Rings, wrote “Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends.” Do you agree with capitol punishment? Hitler and the 9/11 terrorists included.

“Yes, definitely. If someone does a terrible crime, they deserve the punishment. That’s why your raised not to do certain things. It sounds pretty cold, and I would never do those sorts of things, but someone who does has their due.”

If you’ve traveled abroad, name all the countries you’ve been to (countries traveled to)

“Philippines, I stopped over a little bit in Korea, Japan, The Bahamas on my 18th birthday”

Two countries you wish you could go to:

“France and Italy.”

TV shows: Just list them

“There is A show that I watch that no one else watches called “Life on Mars.” It only Lasted for one season but it had a really interesting premise. I also watch “How I met Your mother.” I think everyone likes that.”

What are some Books and movies that have made you cry, and why?:

“The Godfathers(s) part one and Part two. The Part where Vito Corleone Is playing with his grandson and then he dies. Also how Vito Corleone turns to a life of crime for his family, not for him. And you’d know if you knew me better a quote I use all the time  is “if you’re happy, I’m Happy” Which Vito Corleone Says to his wife. He Doesn’t only care about himself.

What is your Favorite spot in NYC and why:

“Astoria. I feel like I belong there. You know, it’s the most diverse place in the world”

Would you insist on paying for your first date? why?

*laughs* it depends how much money I have that day. But If I did, as a kind gesture, why not?

“what if she insisted that she pay?”

“Look, I think Men paying for dinner is an archaic practice, because women are more than capable of earning equal or more than men in today’s age.  In my experience, women don’t mind paying, and it is never an issue.  I believe in gender equality, if that’s what the question is implying  But if I made six-figures, and the girl knows this, dinner is definitely on me *laughs* Altogether, I paying really isn’t a serious issue, and it won’t necessarily mess up your dates.  You just need to be smooth about it. “

Thank you for your time Christopher!

If you are a QC student and would like to be interviewed for this blog, or if you have questions, please shoot me an email at yrabinovitch100@qc.cuny.edu