Mark

..INTERESTS
..
I love my retro music, and running my own internet radio station, and it's respective interests such as the history of radio, computers, video games (early 80's), and putting rare vinyl to CD.  I'm also very interested in astronomy, mainly reading and listening to programs about the planets, such as Stuart Gary's Starstuff.  What really fascinates me is the early days of manned space flight, and all the material that is available about it from Nasa.    When summer comes, it is a dash to the local pool several times a week for the old lap-to-lap work out.

..MUSIC
..
Abba, The Angels, Electric Light Orchestra, Duran Duran, Cliff Richard, Bread and David Gates, The Cars, Time Bandits, Elton John, John Farnham, Sherbit, The Little River Band, Air Supply, Inxs, Pseudo Echo, The Eurythmics, Blondie, Sheena Easton, Boomtown Rats, Rick Astley, The Doobie Brothers, Billy Joel, Westlife, Sharon O'Neil, Splitenz - Tim Finn, Crowded House, The Dugites, Fleetwood Mac, Talking Heads, Tight Fit, Dead or Alive, Marc Hunter and Dragon.   I also like a lot of what you could call Europop, such as Boney M, Maywood, Brotherhood of Man, Bucks Fizz, and Modern Talking..... basically anything that came out of the 70's and 80's, and current Adult Contemporary.  I also don't mind a bit of classical, such as Mozart.

..FILM AND MOVIES
..
Being a space buff, I would have to go for the early Star Wars series (Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and The Return of the Jedi).  Star Trek, Battle Star Galactica, and the reconstruction of the Apollo 13 event with Tom Hanks.

Again, as my taste in music is 70's and 80's, particularly early 80's, I love the movie Xanadu.  It's my all time favourite movie and favourite CD album. Other movies include flashdance and footloose, and  action films, such as the James Bond Collection, Die Hard, and Leathal Weapon Series, and First Blood were the best movies ever made.  One of my recent favorites was The Transformers.   

I had a chance to see 2001 A Space Odyssey recently, and considering the film technology of 1968 would have been nothing like todays, the film would have really been ahead of it's time back then. 

..TELEVISION
..
Don't watch too much tele now-a-days as most of it comes from the sewer.  The few great shows that are still on are World's Wildest Police Video's with that eccentric Sheriff, John Bunnell, and well, The Bill since it started way back in the 80's.  I haven't missed an episode. 

For a laugh, I watch the Eurovision Song Contest every year, and am amazed that people can ever get into that weird music, much of it being comical rather then serious.  Back in the 70's and 80's Eurovision was very different, when the competing countries would actually have singing performers, rather then chanting noises.  It was also the time when countries would vote honestly, rather then the politics that has ruined the contest today.   

Australia's Got Talent is just another show for a great laugh, it's a spin seeing how brave some people are, even when they can't sing a note.  Gordon Ramsay's recent spate of kitchen catastrophes have been fun to watch too, a good insight into peoples varying attitudes, from the enthusiastic competent ones, right down to the out-right dumb. 

When it comes to the ultimate crack, The Chaser's War On Everything would definitely take the cake.  Personally I think they haven't put a foot wrong.  The ones who complain about this show should realise that life is so much more fun with a bit of humor. :) :)  Occasionally, I'll watch Australia's Funniest Home Videos, once a month or so.  They tend to repeat much of their material which can get somewhat boring.


Much of my TV days were the 80's, when I used to watch Fame, Knight Rider, Dynasty, Miami Vice, Towards 2000, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Star Trek the television series, Doctor Who, The Investigators with Helen Wellings, Rock Arena, and every Sunday night, the lights went out, and it was time to watch COUNTDOWN.  Some of the lesser known shows that I use to watch was Starting Out on channel nine, which aired in the beginning of 1984, Prime Time, another channel nine show from 1986, and Central Park West, which aired during 1996.