Where have you lived?

Where do you live now?

I live in Southern California. The weather is great, but having lived on the East coast I think public transit out here could use some improvement to ease the traffic a bit.

What kind of name is Junius Gunaratne?

Junius Jayewardene first served as prime minister and later executive president of Sri Lanka from 1978 to 1989. I was born during his term of office. My parents named me in honor of the prime minister.

Is Junius a Roman name?

Yes. In fact, in Shakespeare's Roman political plays of The Tragedy of Coriolanus and Julius Caesar, you'll find the characters Marcus Junius Brutus, and one of the founders of the Roman Republic, Lucius Junius Brutus.

Why do people ask you so many questions about your name?

If I only knew. That's what happens when you have parents who think creatively.

Where are you from?

I was born in Australia. I grew up in Moorhead, Minnesota.

Isn't that the place near Fargo that flooded or something?

Yes, it's across the state border from Fargo, North Dakota and the area has flooded on more than one occasion.

If you lived in Australia where's your Aussie accent?

Where's your Aussie accent?

I don't believe you. If you're Australian then you should know what a billa-bong is.

It's a water hole.

Your last name, Gunaratne, doesn't sound "Australian."

Is that even a question? It does if you pronounce it in an Aussie accent. Go ahead, try it. Gunaratne (pronounced Goo-na-rut-na) is actually a Singhalese name (from Sri Lanka). Here's how the name is written in its native form:

Do you have a Minnesotan accent?

I only occasionally speak in the regional dialect.

Have you ever had any other accents?

At age 10 I picked up a cockney English accent after living in London for some time. It's gone unfortunately—or maybe fortunately.

Have you traveled anywhere outside of Australia or the US?

Yes. I've lived, visited, made flight connections or have "accidentally" traveled to countries in Asia, Europe and around the Pacific ocean.

How can you accidentally travel to a country?

Horrible monsoon-like rain storms, or other such life-threatening conditions, that stop airplanes from landing can cause accidental visits. In such cases instead of landing at the final destination—in this case, Colombo, Sri Lanka—one is forced to land further away—a place like Madras, India for example.

Did that Colombo-Madras thing really happen?

Yes.

Have you ever met anyone famous?

I met Arthur C. Clarke at his home in Sri Lanka when I was 11. At the time I only had a vague notion of who Mr. Clarke was. I visited Mr. Clarke with my dad, who was doing some work for a newspaper publisher at the time.

Have you ever read any of Arthur C. Clarke's books?

I've read 2001 and 3001, but nothing in between.

Have you ever met anyone rich—like billionaire rich?

I've had lunch and chatted with a few billionaires. This is mainly a result of having lived and worked in Seattle and Silicon Valley. I had lunch with Yahoo! founder Jerry Yang. He used have organized lunches with employees every once in a while. Another time I cornered Facebook founder Mark Zuckerburg for a photo op.