Art, movies, books, cats, Macs, women's issues, politics, social issues, fitness, good restaurants, and travel.
I'm mostly interested in hanging out with people I already know, but I wouldn't mind exchanging ideas with people who share my liberal opinions. I wouldn't mind having heartfelt, casual conversations about art or animals. I also enjoy Bush-bashing.
I really need to listen to more music. I always have an iPod plugged in to my head, but I'm listening to audio book and that means there's no room in my head for music. I love music of all kinds except country. But Johnny Cash and the Dixie Chicks are country and I like them, so they don't count. The kind of country I hate is that top 40 country crap. Especially now that it has become synonymous with "All American" jingoistic patriotism... YUK! I grew up on hard rock, new wave, punk, and "alternative" music - you know, 70s, 80s, and 90s stuff. As a youngster I loved heavy metal and still do. After the whole "grunge" thing in the early 90s, I got bored with all of it and got deeply into jazz and for several years. I think it's smart to not listen to anything but jazz for a while. It's good for your soul. I also spent a while on a big "retro" kick -- and developed a love for Big Band, Swing, and 50s and 60s pop. Then I went on a 70s soul and funk kick. That stuff is awesome!. I'm always open to anything ethnic - especially Middle Eastern and Indian. Classical is okay. Actually it's great - I love Mozart and Beethoven - who doesn't? But some of it is boring. I hate Sousa's marches....YUK! I think I also hate Aaron Copeland.... YUK all that icky American hoedown stuff makes me cringe. I really try to "get" hip hop but I'm just too old and too white I guess. I try to be open minded but I just cannot understand what they're saying. And that makes me sad because that's what my parents said about MY music when I was young.
It's hard to have a top movie but I think I've got a top 5 which includes: Magnolia, This is Spinal Tap, Waiting for Guffman, To Have and Have Not, and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolfe?Here are a few more: Junebug, Best in Show, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, Brazil, North by Northwest, Vertigo, Maria Full of Grace, Rushmore, Goodbye Lenin!, Manchurian Candidate, Barbarian Invasions, The Station Agent, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre,The African Queen.This is only a partial list. I love film. I have a Netflix account and am always open to suggestions for must-see independent, foreign, classic, and documentary films.
Sunday nights in our house revolve around HBO: Entourage, Rome, Six Feet Under, Sex in the City, Sopranos, Curb Your Enthusiasm. All HBO writing is top notch. Thier made for TV movies are excellent (Marie Full of Grace, When the Levees Broke, Elizabeth I, Angels in America) Also Extras was quite good. I wish they were doing a second season. That guy Ricky Gervais is so witty! Bill Maher is mandatory Friday night viewing. He always hits it right on target. We recently added Showtime and I have instantly gotten addicted to Weeds. If you don't get Showtime, you should get season I on DVD. Good stuff!
You'd be surprised how much reading you can do with an iPod and an Audible account. Here are some of the best audio books I've listened to in the past couple of years. I highly recommend the titles marked with an asterisk*: Salmon Rushdie, The Ground Beneath Her Feet and Shalimar the Clown. William Faulkner A Light in August, David Sedaris, Dress Your Family in Courderoy and Denim*, Naked*, and Me Talk Pretty One Day*, Jimmy Carter, Our Endangered Values*, Yann Martel, The Life of Pi*, Philip Roth, The Human Stain....... I could go on and on. Audio reading is something everyone should try! I also read real books, but it isn't as good as audio reading because a) it hurts my eyes and b) it requires sitting still while I do nothing else. The good thing about audio books is that you can read AND do something else at the same time! Multi-tasking! Yes! Read while you drive! Read while you clean house! Read while you shop! It makes all these unpleasant chores much more tolerable! Try it! You'll like it!
I wish David Sedaris could be my friend, but that's not possible, so he can be my favorite hero instead. A nasaly voiced, wimpy, middle-aged homosexual doesn't conjure up the image of "hero" in many minds. But he has such a witty, creative, and sensitive mind. He will make you laugh and then feel guilty for laughing. He can also make you cry and he can make you think even though you thought you were just being entertained. The writers of the American Constitution are also my heros. Jimmy Carter is a good hero, too. I know I have more. I will add their names as I remember them.