Aaron profile picture

Aaron

I've never seen a cowboy pulling a wagon full of sandwiches.

About Me

Writer. Amateur folklorist. Comics nerd. Expatriate southerner who can't find a decent bowl grits in the northwest. I listen to music that was old back when your grandparents liked it. I think I do a great impression of a tuba, but not everyone agrees.I have a theory that folks who work in higher education long after their own graduations live in a wee bit of a state of arrested development. That certainly applies to me.I married an incredible woman who says I read too much. After stints in Chicago, Atlanta, and Seattle, we've landed in Eugene, Oregon, so that I can do the grad student thing. We live in chaos with three poorly behaved dogs. Visit my freelance writing site at http://home.comcast.net/~araganfore/, or look me up in Second Life, where I live a dorky existence as Primate Champollion. Goober says hey. MySpace Graphics

My Interests

Writing, Folklore, Ethnography, Ireland, Celtic Music, Jazz, Blues, Comics, Tropikitsch, Liberal politics, Seattle, Chicago, History, Monkeys, Circus, Theatre, Bourbon, Beer, Coffee, Chicken tikka masala

I'd like to meet:

Someone neat. Like Jean Lafitte. Or Heidi MacDonald of The Beat. Smell my feet.

Music:

Black 47, Seanchai and the Unity Squad, Flogging Molly, Ashley MacIsaac, The Pogues, The Popes, The Chieftans, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Jordan, The Andrews Sisters, Frank Sinatra, Bobby Darin, Rosemary Clooney, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, The Brian Setzer Orchestra, Ralph Stanley, Johnny Cash, Elmore James, RL Burnside, Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Ibrahim Ferrer, Smash Mouth, Sam Hensley, Beck, The Corrs, No Doubt, Macy Gray, Indigo Girls

Movies:

O Brother Where Art Thou?, Biwi No 1, Bride and Prejudice, Back to the Future, Amelie, The Hudsucker Proxy, Tater Tomater, Junebug, Sleepy Hollow, Moulin Rogue, The Talented Mr Ripley, Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, The City of Lost Children, The Fifth Element, Duck Soup, Horse Feathers, King Kong, Blue Hawaii, Eyes Wide Shut, Superman, Superman Returns, A Mighty Wind, Best in Show, Swingers, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

Television:

The Andy Griffith Show, The Venture Bros., The OC, Smallville, Saturday Night Live, Six Feet Under, Deadwood, The Sopranos, The L Word, Dead Like Me, Fawlty Towers, Justice League Unlimited, ER, Looney Tunes

Books:

The Devil in the White City, Mr Wilson's Cabinet of Wonder, In Cold Blood, Men of Tomorrow, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Interpreting Folklore, Tain bo Cuailnge, The Fairy Faith in Celtic Countries, Passing the Time in Ballymenone, Le Morte d'Arthur, The Jack Tales, Peter Pan, The Jungle Book, Frankenstein, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, The Snapper, The Van, Oh Play That Thing, Superman, Green Lantern, The Books of Magic, Hicksville, Sock Monkey, Hawaiian Dick, Y The Last Man, Fables, Optic Nerve, Peanuts

Heroes:

Superman. Cuchulain. Erik Larson. Sherriff Andy Taylor. Kitty Gloom.

My Blog

Pocket full of...

Of course I couldn't let this sail by without comment.  Curiously, I heard it first on NPR this morning while fishing my yogurt out of the fridge.  By the time I got to work, all the ne...
Posted by Aaron on Wed, 25 Apr 2007 04:55:00 PST

Paul

I'm taking a cue from Katie and James, and posting here a piece of writing that likely won't see publication elsewhere.  This little article draws from an interview I conducted with a man I met&n...
Posted by Aaron on Fri, 20 Apr 2007 10:36:00 PST

gridiron

Today I was walking past the student union.  A college kid was handing out promotional frisbees and mini-footballs, advertising summer jobs painting houses.  When I'm about ten feet awa...
Posted by Aaron on Mon, 16 Apr 2007 03:31:00 PST

Thought for the day: 4/4/07

When I am walking across campus, and I see someone I know, often I nod once in greeting.  I realized today that I nod down for women, and up for men.  Down is respectful: Howdy, ma'am....
Posted by Aaron on Thu, 05 Apr 2007 08:50:00 PST

Smoke on your pipe and put that in.

Why do I have "America" from West Side Story stuck in my head?  And where's my favorite North Carolina orthodontist, when I need him for backup vocals? I think it may have something to do with Ha...
Posted by Aaron on Thu, 15 Mar 2007 10:31:00 PST

chinoiserie

Empire Buffet on Franklin is by far the best Chinese in Eugene.  The place is a veritable horn of plenty of greasy food, with four long buffet counters, a sushi bar, and of course one of those cr...
Posted by Aaron on Tue, 27 Feb 2007 04:50:00 PST

tabula rasa

For those of you who don't know, my grandfather, Calvin Ragan, is an introverted, retired dairy farmer.  He and my grandmother still live on the farm in New Hill, NC, though the cows and the hors...
Posted by Aaron on Tue, 20 Feb 2007 01:50:00 PST

Calling all Greensboro friends

Jennifer and I went to a local BBQ joint a couple of nights ago.  Terrible food.  Grits from a box, etc.   BUT! Check out this (crappy) camera phone pic of one particular menu...
Posted by Aaron on Tue, 06 Feb 2007 10:37:00 PST

Flames on the side of my face

Oh Lordy, what must I do to banish the Chritmas music from my head?!  It's been WEEKS now, and I don't even work in retail!  Sponge away the writing on this stone!  Out, out damn spot!&...
Posted by Aaron on Thu, 11 Jan 2007 05:53:00 PST

Thought for the day: 1/3/07

For every new item of news that is released into our society, no matter how trivial..whether it be the invasion of a sovereign nation, the death of a head of state, or the pregnancy of a cel...
Posted by Aaron on Wed, 03 Jan 2007 09:14:00 PST