Music: I write my own stuff -- have even recorded some of it -- play in the band at church, host the music files for a friend of mine.
Computers: A real shocker for someone on the net isn't it? I usually build my own, and have for the last 14 years.
Motorcycling: But mostly locally, my old bike (1987 Kawasaki KZ305) wasn't big enough to go far from home. I have become a little more adventurous since I upgraded to a real motorcycle, a Harley Fatboy.
News You Need
You might want to stop the mp3 player first...
Allison Krauss: should have been obvious, given the comment above. That girl has the voice of an angel, and makes bluegrass something everyone can enjoy.
Daniel Amos: A southern California Christian rock band, they kind of followed the Eagles from country to rock, then left them behind as they went into punk and new wave. Now over 25 years later they still release the occasional album filled with their eclectic mix of rock, jazz, pop, and yes, the occasional new wave bit.
Classic Rewind: That's what Sirius radio calls the stuff put out in the late '70s to the late '80s. Boston, Van Halen, Pretenders, Police, Styx, Journey, REO, Yes (but not the pretentious early '70s stuff).
Selected Grunge: The first Pearl Jam CD, most Alice in Chains, Smashing Pumpkins (especially the early ep's).
Letter Bands: King's X, XTC, ZZ Top.
Celtic influenced: Loreena McKennit, Enya, Clannad, Chieftains.
the pillows, or at least Ride on Shooting Star...
..
The Parent Trap (new version), The Day of the Jackal (Old version), Bond films (Thunderball best, View to a Kill worst), Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, The Fifth Element (it's delightfully weird), Drop Dead Gorgeous, and The Andromeda Strain. I also like caper films (the Ocean's series, Real Mc Coy, Getaway) and silly sentimental films (go figure).
Coupling: take Friends and Sex in the City, put them together, only have people who are really funny write the scripts, and you get this show.
Sports Night: Aaron Sorkin's first TV show wasn't about sports, maybe that's why it was so great.
Star Trek -- My favorite being Voyager, especially after 7 of 9 came aboard, The Original series, Next Generation got better after Rodenberry passed away (sad to say, but true -- he held the series back), Deep Space 9 went on too long, they kind of ran out of steam at the end. I never really got a chance to give Enterprise a fair shake, because of when it aired (I was always busy then)
That '70s Show -- I'm almost that old, and I can relate to a lot of what went on -- although I never got my "Donna".
Lucy: Daughter of the Devil, Daria, Family Guy, Boondocks, Venture Brothers, Futurama: If only adult swim could get Daria, my late night TV watching would be complete.
Stand Alone Complex, Trigun (!), Cowboy Bebop, Rurouni Kenshin, FLCL, Elfin Lied, Paranoia Agent, Samurai Champloo: I'm starting to sound downright multicultural, aren't I?
History Channel, Discovery, TLC: Network TV sucks -- 'nuff said.
Books
JRR Tolkien: if you think the movies were good, you should read his books -- learn what the films could only hint at.
Robert Heinlien: Back in the '60s is stuff was borderline smut, but compared to the Windhaven Plantation books, it's PG13 at best. Take notes though, so you can keep track when he starts throwing all his stories together.
Douglas Adams: The hitch hikers series is great fun, but my favorite is The Long Dark Tea time of the Soul.
Frank Herbert: The original trilogy (Dune, Dune Messiah, Children of Dune) was the best, God Emperor of Dune was OK, but the later ones just kind of went too far into left field. And his son's prequels to the series just shows how much he should have read the originals.
Stephen King: loved Needful Things, have never been creeped out more than Pet Sematery, got completely sucked in to The Talisman, thoroughly enjoyed the short story collections, but never got into the Dark Tower series.
Tom Clancy: Even if I wasn't a Navy vet I'd like his books.
The Giver: 1984 for children -- and almost as creepy as Pet Sematary for adults.
Heroes
My Dad: the biggest compliment you can give me is to tell me I remind you of him.
My Son: before he was born he was diagnosed with Dandy Walker syndrome. At 2, doctors told us he would probably always need a walker, or at least a cane to get around. At 5, he walks down the stairs every morning and runs out to get on his school bus. In kindergarten, he reads all the sign up on the wall. You want to tell me something else he'll never be able to do?
My Wife: she's put up with me for 17+ years, that's got to amount to something.
My Daughter: She's got a brain the size of a small planet (and the test scores to match), yet I'm still her hero. I just hope it stays that way when she hit's high school.
About me:
I'm a 40 something old fart, too short, too fat, too grumpy -- but otherwise a nice enough guy. I'm mostly a stay at home dad, except on Saturdays, when I work selling cell phones to clueless and entitlement obsessed people.
Alison Krauss -- If I weren't happily married I'd move down to Tennessee just to get a chance to meet her.
Douglas Adams -- except he's gone now, although I did get an email from him once.
Michael Hedges -- same problem as with Douglas Adams -- he's deceased (the old headline, Watching my Life Go By is one of his song titles)
Cathy O'Grady -- my first international internet penpal. We had adjoining sites on Geocities, mine for my video collection stuff, her for Xena. My site still exists, but is a quiet, low key (a.k.a. unread) site, while she runs www.xenaville.com (big, popular site).
