Licking stamps, counting grains of sand, pointing at the sky and saying, "It's a bird, it's a plane...", computing pi to the 10^217th digit with only a crayon and a pile of McDonald's napkins, and watching paint dry. When I get bored with those fascinating activities, I might read some history/sci-fi/fantasy/horror/science, play a computer game, tinker with a computer, or run off to a metal or classical music concert. Lately, I'm a student of Tai Chi.
Isaac Asimov, except that he's DEAD. Carl Sagan, except that he's dead too. Thomas Jefferson would have been a hoot, but OOPS!!! Also dead. Albert Einstein? Dead. Paul Kurtz!! He's alive. Throw in Bill Clinton for another non-dead person to meet. I'll bet he'd be the life of the party.Am I supposed to be rambling about people I *COULD* actually meet? OK. Cool people. Smart people. Quirky people. Conspiracy nuts are TOO quirky, so please bugger off if you're one of these. Then again, conspiracy nuts can be entertaining too. I enjoy a variety of friends, including those who are very different from me. Don't be afraid to send a friend request even if you totally disagree with my perspective -- I'll probably accept it if you're a real person and you're not just a friend collector.
Wooden spoons on cheap aluminum pans, and plastic flutes. Metal of almost all sorts (minus the faux metal and hair bands) -- Dark Tranquillity, Children of Bodom, In Flames, Opeth, Metallica (especially older stuff), Slayer, Lamb of God, etc. Classical -- Mozart, Mahler, Brahms, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Chopin, Mussorgsky, Rachmaninov, etc. Some others -- Alice in Chains, Breaking Benjamin, Linkin Park, Slipknot, Lacuna Coil, etc. I'm not interested in engineered overmarketed unoriginal corporate pop stars.
Yikes, I have to keep updating this, but most likely by the time you read this, the list of movies will be showing on AMC. Lord of the Rings (the whole spectacular series -- AND the great books!), Harry Potter series, everything ever made of Monty Python, most of the Marvel comic movies, History of the World Part 1, Spaceballs, the BBC production of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Post apocalyptic B movies, anything else that's goofy, cult-classic, slapstick, compelling Sci-Fi, horror with originality, historical or mythical epic, action with a decent story, or ANYTHING with a totally unexpected twist. I'm not up for chick-flicks, sappy dramas, or heartwarming made-for-Oscar films.
Much of TV content doesn't interest me. There are some gems to be found. Science and history documentaries that have actually bothered to be accurate rather than popular or trendy are at the top. Reality shows are the height of stupidity. It seems that this genre is nearly over, and not too soon. A few exceptional shows: Heroes, The Office, 24, Smallville, South Park (yes, they poke fun at EVERYONE, including you, including ME).... Where have the sitcoms gone? We need something on par with Seinfeld, without trying to BE Seinfeld.
The Dragonlance series, but only the ones written by Margaret Weiss and/or Tracy Hickman. Everything (errr.. most) by Stephen King. Everything by Isaac Asimov. Some Michael Crichton. Douglas Adams has written nothing short of greatness (and he died way too early!). Tolkien is fabulous. Science is always high on my list. Ancient history, particularly the religions and cultures of the ancient world (dawn of humanity to the Roman era). History is a good way of understanding the madness. I'm particularly interested in ancient writings of the world's current religions, the histories of those writings, origination and redaction of those writings, historical context of the writings, past and present understanding/application and the socio-historical developments leading to the evolution of the understanding. Finally, ancient writings of religions and cultures that are long gone and the historical context of the writings is valuable to understanding the influences on the religions and cultures that have survived to the present day.
I have no heroes. I'm not a hero seeker, or an idolizer of people. If this section were relabeled "People I admire or respect", I could include Carl Sagan, the Dalai Lama, Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking, and Bill Gates (for an unprecedented philanthropic initiative), Mr. Wizard (Don Herbert), Bill Nye.