I don't read much in the way of novels these days, but was a HUGE
Stephen King fan and read pretty much everything up through the mid
90's of his. Still love "The Stand" and "Salem's Lot". Poe and
Shirley Jackson still resonant with me. I've been reading a good
deal of poetry lately and, for some reason, the works of e.e.
cummings, whom I hated as an adolescent...go figure. I'm reading
David Cross' "I Drink for a Reason", sort of. He's one of my comedy
faves. Of course, could anyone improve upon the greatest book
ever..."Green Eggs & Ham"?
Music...forget about it. I am a true music buff and love just about
everything, though I'm not really into hiphop or rap, thrash metal
or world music. Mostly Pop/Rock, Blues and Country through the
early 90's with a chunk of classical thrown in for flavor. My
favorite singers are too many to mention but a quick sample: Etta
James, Nick Lowe, Joe South, Gerry Rafferty, Johnny Cash, Otis
Redding, Jackie Wilson, Dan Fogelberg, Cat Stevens, Gordon
Lightfoot, The Decemberists (Colin Meloy is a friggin' genius),
Regina Spektor, Ben Folds, Jonathan Coulton, Weird Al, Rilo Kiley,
Michael Feinstein, Don Williams, Hal Ketchum, Barenaked Ladies, Joe
Jackson, The Magnetic Fields (Stephin Merritt...friggin' genius),
Tracy Chapman, my new fave The Weepies...could really go on.
Food is my other love. I come from a Greek family that owned a
cafe. I love Italian and Southern/Soul food especially. I am a
pretty good cook myself and love to entertain when I get the
chance. My moussaka is THE best. Lasagna, key lime pie, cheesecake
and macaroni & cheese are a few more of my specialties that all
the kids ask for by name. And I make these little cream
cheese/sausage pastry things...forget about it!
Movies may be my favorite activity and I am indeed a classic
dinner/movie guy. My all time favorite movie is "The Princess
Bride" because it works on almost every movie theme level and never
ceases to make me laugh. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (natch),
Godfathers I & II, Raising Arizona, High Fidelity, Chasing Amy
(great writing),The Tao of Steve (more great writing), Buffalo '66
(the photobooth scene is priceless), Sling Blade, Big Night,
Dominick & Eugene, Defending Your Life, ...say anything, So I
Married an Axe Murderer, Sideways (that scene where Paul Giamatti
learns from his ex that she's preggers, watching his face and
feeling his angst and regret as quiet torment subtly distorts his
expression... KILLS me!), Wizard of Oz, Dirty Pretty Things,
Aliens, Die Hard, the first 3 Star Wars...again, could go on
here.
I do enjoy TV, but I don't really follow many shows and rarely
watch network TV. If there's one thing I cannot watch it's ANY
reality TV. I truly abhor ALL of it with great passion-don't get me
started! I mostly enjoy the Food Network, Comedy Central, History
and Science Channels (when they aren't pumping out the reality
crap), with news and documentary stuff high up on my watch list. I
am a loyal Stewart & Colbert follower and often wonder where I
will vent my liberal angst should they ever pack up shop. I love
the Spongebob, record the Fox Sunday night shows (even though they
kinda aren't that good anymore) and am a fan of almost all Adult
Swim shows, especially The Venture Brothers. Come to think of it,
that may be my favorite show.