Brain research, Education, Trying new things, Reading, Music (esp Blues), Riding on the back of a Harley, Scuba, Walking on the beach at night, Learning and Taking classes, Hangin out with my hubby, Flying, Talking and laughing with my best friends Karen and Sharlan and my wonderfully fun and interesting newer school friends, Researching and learning on the computer (to the point of hyperventilating at times!), Reading on the shoreline, Laying in a hammock looking at the clouds or stars, Sitting by a blazing fire, Stormwatching, Going to concerts, Live Nascar, Live arena football
Music:
As Ray Charles said, "There are two kinds of music- good music, and bad music." I'm eclectic in my tastes, and my Memphis roots have been very influential. I was a fanatic teenybopper in the late 60s and early 70s and loved seeing all of the local bands at the Orlando and Winter Park youth centers, and old groups at the Orlando sports stadium, skating rink, armory, battles of the bands, etc. I have wonderfully fun memories of listening to 8-tracks while riding around in my Peaugot (the Silver Bullet) with my friends. My first 8-track tape was Blind Faith. Whoo! After WLOF, WORJ was the best station imaginable! I still LOVE listening to 60's psychedelic such as Hendrix and all the groups from the West Coast, Deep Tracks, Original Woodstock groups, early Poco with Richie Furay, early Blood, Sweat and Tears with Al Kooper, Beatles- esp George Harrison, Led Zep, Van the Man, Dylan (what poetry!), Clapton and everything he has ever done, early Dan Folgelberg, Steve Marriott, Jimie Spheeris, Janis Joplin, Jackson Browne, Pink Floyd, Stevie Ray, Carlos Santana, CSN+Young, Alvin Lee, old British invasion (they respected blues more than we did, and we owe them a lot), old Soul, Wave, Rockabilly, and live jazz. My teen idols were Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Joni Mitchell, Donovan, and Dan Folgelberg. Favorite album of all time- Led Zep's first, then Jackson Browne's Late For the Sky, and yes, sorry, Dark Side of the Moon. Favorite single- Van Morrison's Into the Mystic, followed by Hot Tuna's Watersong, then Gabriel and Bush's Don't Give Up. I love current music, too, but don't want to bore anyone with everyone I like. I especially love Laura Veirs, Mary J. Blige, Amy Winehouse, Damon Albarn of Gorillaz, John Mayer, and Death Cab for Cutie. My favorite, though, is Blues. It gets me right in my gut! Music always sets my mood straight. I treasure my I-Pod collection, but, I'll have to say, I miss the old days of listening to my favorite or new record albums over and over while reading the covers over and over, as well!
Movies:
I can't stand watching movies more than once, with the exception of a few- such as The Big Chill, The Breakfast Club, Witches of Eastwick, Prince of Tides, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, Teachers, Two Days in the Valley, Billy Jack, Goonies, Willow, Dirty Dancing, the first Star Wars, Forrest Gump (I was Jenny!), Waiting to Exhale, 12 Angry Men (b+w), Wizard of Oz, lots of Music videos + DVDs
Television:
TV rots the senses in the head!
It kills the imagination dead!
It clogs and clutters up the mind!
It makes a child so dull and blind.
He can no longer understand a fantasy,
A fairyland!
His brain becomes as soft as cheese!
His powers of thinking rust and freeze!
An excerpt from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,
By Roald Dahl, 1964Research tells us that the brain is more active during sleep than while watching TV. I am very selective about what I watch, but still spend too much time viewing the boob tube! I'm always looking for some redeeming value in a show. I avoid murder "who-dun-its"-- entertainment at the expense of innocent victims, usually female, whether fact or fictional. And I don't really care for situation comedies or most reality shows- except Rock Star INXS, which I loved! I mostly like dramas and ..aries. I miss Ally McBeal! The CBS Sunday Morning news show, Grey's Anatomy, House, VH1's Best Week Ever, The Dog Whisperer, Who's Line is it Anyway?, + News programs, Discovery Channel, Nature, Nova are my favorites.
Books:
The Great Escape! I love anything by Dan Brown, Isabele Allende, Pat Conroy, Alice Walker, Barbara Kingsolver, Wally Lamb, Alphie Kohn, Donald Graves, Joseph Campbell, Pramahansa Yogananda, Ramakrishna, Krishnamurti, Thich Nhat Hanh, and many more. I love the Clan of the Cave Bear series, Lord of the Rings series, Hanta Yo, The Women's Room, and Ya Ya Sisterhood. I enjoy biographies and nonfiction. I love the Conversations With God series and A Course in Miracles, and anything published by Hay House. I love Anansi stories and other African folktales. I love children's literature, and enjoy reading to my students. It is difficult to find time for my own pure pleasure reading these days. And when I do, I tend to fall asleep!
Just read: Here Comes the Sun: The Spiritual and Musical Journey of George Harrison- J Greene
Heroes:
I admire my eccentric adrenaline-junkie husband, My late father and grandmother, My mom and sisters, Rosa Parks (my number 1 shero), Jimmy Carter, Einstein, Mahatma Ghandi, America's founding fathers, Our Soldiers, Chief Seattle, Jane Goodall, Dharma (who I wanna be like when I "grow up") in Dharma and Greg, Oprah, Compelling authors, Musicians, Nonconformists, Children, Big dogs
