I’ve been tagged…

Hmmm… I’ve been tagged by Steakbellie to write about certain topics in blocks of eight. ‘Tis an interesting assignment. I’ll give it a try…

Eight Passions In My Life

1. My Alpine Snowflake, beloved bride of mine, Dagmar. I’ve often said that I never really grew up, never really knew who I was, and never knew how to be happy until I met her. Just today I kissed her on the forehead and said, “Thanks for taking my anger away.” She’s my very favorite.
2. Family. My family is getting more and more important to me every year. The older I get the more I need to spend time with the clan.
3. Photography? To be honest, I’m not sure that any of the last six are going to be in any particular order… But I’ve been enjoying photography the past few years, and I’m starting to make a little money at it. It’s nice to make money doing something you enjoy!
4. Music. I don’t play bass in any organized band any more (not that any of my previous bands could be called “organized,” really) but I still enjoy listening to music, and when I do play in jam sessions or whatnot I truly enjoy it when I can sink into a song and forget myself for a while, floating on the notes, being timeless (often in more ways than one).
5. Motorcycling. While I enjoy “the call of the road,” the rumble of a V-twin and the wind in my hair, I enjoy the combination of solitude and brotherhood just as much. The solitude comes when you’re riding — you can’t talk to anyone, and no one can talk to you. There are no cell phones, no TV’s, no distractions. It’s the perfect way to sort through the day’s problems… And once the problems are sorted, you often find yourself in some really pretty country to enjoy. The brotherhood is something I’ve found relatively recently. I’ve found some good people to ride with the past four or five years, and it makes the whole experience seem “whole.”
6. Friends. Make ’em. Keep ’em. They’re important, especially when you need bail money.
7. Helping in the community. It’s important to me to help out wherever I can. I’ve known that all along but never seemed to do much about it until recently. I hope to do more.
8. Whining about my day job.

Eight Things to Do Before I Die

1. Kiss my wife.
2. Make a will.
3. Buy more life insurance.
4. See the American Tricentennial.
5. Visit Germany and Austria and drink their beer.
6. See a palm tree (and NOT a potted palm, a real one, like in the Corona Beer commercials).
7. Swim in a warm ocean.
8. Ride my motorcycle down Highway 1 from Jacksonville to the Florida Keys. (Hey, that’d get me the “palm tree” AND “the ocean” all in one if I played my cards right!)

Eight Things I Often Say

1. “…and we’ll take it from there.”
2. “Do you know what I mean? I mean, did I explain that right?”
3. “Sure, I’ll have another.”
4. “Oh for gosh sakes.” (I actually do say that.)
5. “Geeze, I didn’t sleep at all last night.”
6. “What key was that supposed to be in?”
7. “What’s this button for?”
8. “Sure, I’ll have another.”

Eight Books I Read Recently

1. “Analog Science Fiction and Fact” magazine. I know, I know, it’s not a book, but I read these magazines a lot. I’ve got a library that goes from 2005 back to the 1960’s or so, with a few going back to the 50’s. It’s not a complete library, but it’s not bad.
2. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Robert A. Heinlein, 1966. A great treatise on political theory.
3. Mission of Gravity, Hal Clement, 1953. Imagine how a planet with wildly varying gravitational fields (an oblong, spindle shaped planet with a large mascon could do the trick) could mold not only a species, but a society.
4. Man of Earth, Algis Budrys, 1958. Give a sick old man a healthy body and a new start in a foreign army and see what happens.
5. Cat’s Cradle, Kurt Vonnegut Jr., 1963. I don’t think I understood this book. I probably should read it again…
6. Esperanto: A Complete Grammar. This book had the weakest plot I’ve ever read, and I’ve read winners like “Fish Men from Pluto.” I got to page 30 and lost the book. Now I’ll never know if Rikardo donis libron al Maria.
7. The Cat Who Walks Through Walls, Robert A. Heinlein, 1985. A fun action/adventure story set in outer space. A bit too cheeky for my taste at times, but fun to read.
8. Old Man’s War, John Scalzi, 2005. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Science fiction (of course) — rejuvenation with a twist.
9. I know, there’s only supposed to be eight. But go out and read Spider Robinson’s stuff. Intelligent humor wrapped around a love of wordplay mixed with dabs of science with a dollop of cool ideas.

Eight Songs that Mean Something To Me

1. “Cat’s in the Cradle” by Harry Chapin.
2. “For What It’s Worth,” by Buffalo Springfield. (For years I thought the name of the song was “Stop Children, What’s That Sound”.)
3. “Scarborough Fair/Canticle” by Simon and Garfunkle. The intricacies of the song fascinated me when I was a kid. I loved the opposing themes, both musical and lyrical, though it was the music that truly intrigued me. They pulled this trick off again with a version of “Silent Night” an album or two later, incidentally. I haven’t heard the song in years. I wonder if I still enjoy it? Mayhap.
4. Gosh, there are so many. I cry sometimes when I hear “Walk Don’t Run” by the three-piece band The Ventures. The simple elegance and sheer coolness of the song was years ahead of its time. I think they influenced rock and roll more than people realize.
5. “Fugue for Organ in G Minor” by Bach. Just plain cool.
6. “Moondance” by Van Morrison.
7. “Third Stone from the Sun” by Hendrix. You can do that with a guitar? Whoa…
8. “Kiko and the Lavender Moon” by Los Lobos. Nice memories of dancing in the living room at midnight.

Eight Qualities I Look For in a Friend

1. Kindness.
2. Respect.
3. Must treat old ladies, small children and dogs as human beings.
4. Honesty.
5. Trustworthiness.
6. Responsibility.
7. Dignity.
8. The ability to communicate clearly.

Eight People I’m Passing This On To

1. Pistols at Dawn
2. The Guv’nor
3. Dad Andersen
4. Leoness (shoot, she’s already been tagged)
5. Kat (dagnabbit, Steakbellie tagged her too)
6. Pixie
7. I’m running out of people. I’m only listing people I think would participate — no use picking on someone who hates this sort of thing… Um… The Lady Who Doesn’t Lunch
8. Aunt V?