Going to the ballet, bicycle races (yea for the new Tour of Missouri), going to the movie theater (especially on opening night), Cardinals baseball games, going to plays and modern dance performances, art and history museums, reading, going to an occasional concert, hitting the thrift shops, spending time with my family and friends, and spending time at home puttering around or doing absolutely nothing. ahhhhh . . .
Well, if I could meet dead people (before they were dead), I'd want to meet Vincent Van Gogh, John Lennon, Elvis Presley, Gandhi, and oh my, so many to think about. As for living people, I would love to meet the Dalai Lama, Jan Ullrich, Thich Nacht Hanh, Lance Armstrong, Phil Liggett, Paul Sherwen, Mary Karr, Steve Martin, Conan O'Brien, Yadier Molina, Tony LaRussa. And how about Johnny Depp, Casey and Ben Affleck, Jude Law, George Clooney, just to look at them close up, and people who like to talk about bicycle racing, baseball, art, movies, good books, vegetarianism, good plays to see, maybe politics (if they're not hotheaded, stubborn, opinionated types--at least not if they disagree with me), ummm. . .there's lots more, but I'll have to think. . .
Bob Dylan, Ryan Adams, Willy Mason, Amy Winehouse, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Ray Charles, Queen, Jimi Hendrix, the Rolling Stones, Sex Pistols, CSNY, Miles Davis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis, Melissa Etheridge, Johnny Cash, A Perfect Circle, Marilyn Manson, Prince, The Who, James Brown, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Talking Heads, Pearl Jam, R.E.M., Guns 'N Roses, Tool
Current: Into the Wild, Eastern Promises, Death At A Funeral, No Country For Old Men, Babel, The Departed, Little Miss Sunshine, Superman Returns, A History of Violence, Munich. Horror: The Exorcist, Rosemary's Baby. Old: I love Pee Wee Herman, especially Pee Wee's Big Adventure, also the old King Kong (my first movie), Dr. Zhivago, old Cary Grant movies (especially Houseboat), Judy Garland movies, Rock Hudson and Doris Day movies. I like Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Enemy Mine, Breaking Away, Donnie Darko, ET, Minority Report, anything with Johnny Depp, Sean Penn (Dead Man Walking--he should have won the Oscar that year), martial arts movies and I'm sure I'll be adding and subtracting here as time goes by.
I work during primetime so I don't have to worry about getting sucked into network crap. I hate to admit I'm a news junkie, but I am. I'm lovin' the Brit series Shameless on the Sundance Channel and so many of the movies, too, and I like flipping through the History Channel, Discovery, CNN, MSNBC, Biography, IFC. I'm glued to Versus during the month of July (go Paul and Phil). Conan always makes me laugh, but I think it's time for Leno and Letterman to retire, Daily Show, Colbert Report, Court TV sometimes, when my mood calls for some gruesome true crime stuff, Biographies of stars and historical figures, and ummmmm. . .I'm tired. Oh yeah, and Oprah bugs the crap out of me--just thought I'd mention that.
I love memoirs--The Liars' Club and Cherry, both by Mary Karr, Bob Dylan's Chronicles. I also love a good biography--Last Train to Memphis, about Elvis, comes to mind. Some others: In Cold Blood (there's that true crime stuff again), East of Eden, Grapes of Wrath, Cannery Row, I'm stuck on Steinbeck and can't think right now. . . for fun I like Stephen King. I love photography books--Avedon's In The American West is one of my faves. I love poetry when I'm in the mood for it--fell in love with Robert Frost's work in high school and still love it. Cycling books, especially with lots of photos--there's a book called An Intimate Portrait of the Tour De France that is beautiful with its old sepia photos. And is there anyone who has read it that doesn't love To Kill A Mockingbird?
My mother, Irene, Gandhi, The Dalai Lama, Vincent Van Gogh, Amy Goodman, John Lennon, Bob Dylan, Lance Armstrong, Jan Ullrich (doping be damned--say it ain't so) Phil Liggett, Paul Sherwen. . .more to come. . .