[ Poetry ]
[ Drawing & Painting ]
[ Clinging to the sunset of my Rugby career ]
[ Communing with nature (ummm that is, hiking, exploring, wandering, & outdoor photography) ]
Living as a Lefty in the Right-mans world (both in terms of handed-ness and political views); re-discovering my old pals from the far corners of the world to meet over a pint and a laugh; playing the part of a pseudo oenophile (wine snob); ornithology (birding) and wildlife watching; walking in city parks; hiking in mountains, berry-bog sloughs, and high-desert plains; Arctophile (I'll be nice & tell you what that means: A person who loves or collects teddy bears); sudden and vigorous conservation of our natural splendor on this our Mother Earth; Arom-a-holic - I never leave the house without bathing in some elixer of oils and colognes (Patchouli, Sandalwood, Geranium, Rose, Frank n' Muhr, Dolce & Gabanna, Ambre, Angel, Issey Miyake, Jean Paul Gualtier, Hanae Mori); My Volkswagons (GTI & Westfalia); Looking after Baby Tristan (my little pink betta fish named in honor Brad Pitt's most sublime character in Legends of the Fall); Irish pubs - there's a good chance I could wander in one and never leave and never feel I missed a thing; Flagstaff, The Grand Canyon, and Sedona - a wonderful time in my life when living there; admiring beautiful women; daydreaming; causing mischief, pretending like I want to get in fights when I am out on the piss and feel 'wronged' but I seldom actually follow-thru on such absurdity; business acumen; baseball; football; soccer; golf; traveling; shopping; vintage clothes; warm weather; snow; open spaces with big sweeping views; politeness and flattery - they really do get you everywhere; I love Wolves and have conducted academic field research on their re-introduction here; coaching & mentoring - we could probably all stand to get give a bit more of that; unspecified recreational activities; ah yes, being a nostalgic sort, I do love to reminisce of the past and dream of the future, while keeping firmly grounded in the present...
However, there are some who simply describe me as:
Ummm... What is up with my face? I've done like 9 of these idiotic Celebrity Look-alike things! Each one comes up more bizarre than the previous - now I've even got little boy & girl actors trying to look like me! I encompass nearly all genders, races, and ethnicities! Hahahaha! These truly get more and more amusing with each go!
Kind-hearted souls...
U2, Pearl Jam, The Killers, New Order, Mazzy Star, Coldplay, Snow Patrol, Death Cab for Cutie/Postal Service, Peter Björn & John, Thievery Corporation, The Cure, Massive Attack, Interpol, Led Zeppelin, Bob Marley, Cornershop, Radiohead, Zero 7, Oasis, Pixies, Joy Division, Dido, Sarah McLaughlin, Air, Norah Jones, ATB, Depeche Mode, Chicane, Portishead, Dashboard Confessional, Tricky, Delerium, Teddybears, Brian Eno, Enya, Enigma, The Orb, Muse, Orbital, Art of Trance, Arcade Fire, Solarstone, Morcheeba, Daft Punk, Goldfrapp, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Propellerheads, Sky Cries Mary, Erasure, Duran Duran, Green Day, The Strokes, The Shins, Blink 182, Nirvana, Rage Against the Machine; Soundgarden, Smashing Pumpkins, Goo Goo Dolls, Stone Temple Pilots, Jane's Addiction, Ludwig Van Beethoven, Camper Van Beethoven, Cracker, The Flaming Lips, Red Hot Chili Peppers
Seven Year Bitch, Lucinda Williams, Posies, Avril Lavigne, Faithless, Gwen Stefani, Nellie Furtado, Natalie Merchant, Lauren Hill, My Morning Jacket, Pretty Girls Make Graves, Everything But The Girl, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Handsome Boy Modeling School, Deep Forest, The Sundays, MXPX, LMC, Public Enemy, Tupac Shakur, NWA, 2 Live Crew, Ice Cube, Ice T, Beastie Boys, Ferry Corsten, DJ Icey, Tiesto, Paul Van Dyke, Andy Moor, Pete Tong, Judge Jules, BT, Fatboy Slim, Pet Shop Boys, Paul Oakenfold, Blue Six, Panic! At the Disco, Röyksopp, Chemical Brothers, Death in Vegas, Armand Van Helden, Armin Van Buuren, Rabbit in the Moon, Motorcycle, Matt Darey, Groove Armada; Darude; Information Society; Modest Mouse; Madonna, Sleater Kinney, Kraftwerk, Yaz, Bauhaus, Moby, Telepopmusik, Jewel, White Zombie, White Stripes, Ministry, Psychadelic Furs, Social Distortion, Bad Religion, The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Clash, The Sex Pistols, The Cult, The Who, The Smiths/Morrisey, Iggy Pop, Lou Reed, The Stooges, Velvet Underground, Grateful Dead, The Doors, Jimmy Hendrix, Credence Clearwater Revival, Bob Dylan, The Beatles; Rolling Stones, Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams Sr., Chopin, Vivaldi, Bach, Shubert, Wolfgang Amedeus Mozart, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Count Bassie, Patsy Cline, Willie Nelson, Elvis, Buddy Holly.
I played clarinet up until grade 8, but I could never beat out the first chair kid and got discouraged and became a jock instead :) Next, I tried to pick-up guitar, but became increasingly frustrated that I could not sound like Jimmy Hendrix after playing for two weeks; I hocked my guitar, amp, all of it [sigh]. But I do love a variety of music as you can plainly see above...
My frenetic work schedule and robust social life has strained the relationship between TV and I. It is a hardship replete with misery...
But every once in a great while, me and television make time to just hang out and stare at each other - each of us as vacant as the other...
A Brave New World; 1984; Dharma Bums, On the Road, Desolation Angels; Crime & Punishment; Dante's Inferno; Leaves of Grass; The Great Gatsby; Into the Wild; Into Thin Air; The Sun Also Rises; Hills Like White Elephants, The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber; High Fidelity; Cat's Cradle; The Things They Carried; Inner Simplicity; The Metrosexual Survival Guide; Great American Short Stories series; Choose-Your-Own Adventure series; Where the Wild Things Are; Walter the Farting Dog.
Writing with Power; The Chicago Manual of Style; Strunk & White - Elements of Style; MSFT Manual for Technical Publications; The Five Dysfunctions of a Team.
All those who have believed in me and given me a chance; All my beloved environmentalists; My Mom and Dad; my therapist; Don McLeod (my greatest professor ever); Our brave servicemen and women; Great and passionate teachers; Abraham Lincoln; Mahatma Gandhi; Leonardo Da Vinci; Annie Oakley; JFK; Bill Clinton; Al Gore; Vincent Van Gogh; Albert Einstein; Galileo; Vassily Kandinsky; Emily Dickinson; Everett Ruess; The Doctor Martin Luther; Andrew Whitechapel (giving cred' for the name); Marilyn Monroe; Frank Lloyd Wright; Steve Irwin (The Late Crocodile Hunter); Mother Teresa; Bill Gates; Bono; Eddie Vedder; Bob Marley; Brandon Flowers; Hope Sandoval; Bob Dylan; John Lennon; Snufalufagus, Oscar the Grouch & Cookie Monster.
And all those souls who have had nothing but hope, and have still carried on with grace...