One Meme in the Stream

So, I received these questions from Raven as requested... here are my answers, followed by the rules, for those of you who care to know...:

1. You seem to like quite a diversity of music. If you had to only listen to one group/singer for the rest of your life, who would it be and why?

Hmm.. originally this would have been an easy one. I would have selected Phish, for the simple reason that they play a wide variety of styles, bluegrass to blues to funk to latin to simply fun bits (even a bit of "arena rock" in there) and they are very talented musicians. Unfortunately, as they have officially disbanded for now... I suppose I could get used listen to String Cheese Incident for the same reason. At least with either group, there be less chance for boredom via the broad spectrum of styles played, and the talent doesn't hurt either. (Dem boys can just flat out play)


2. After your experiences of being a "nice guy" have you reformed or are you still being nice?

You never really reform... you just do your best to control the impulse. It's a bit like an addiction, really. You can quit... but sometimes, the craving gets to be too much and you just give in. That's what happened with the "Drunk Girl" situation. Best I can say is that I can sometimes manage to hold the reins on it.... dammit. Sometimes. I need to start a 12-step group for nice guys...


3. You made a joke of of your favorite books...what are your real choices and why?

I have a list a mile long, but the dictionary (and thesaurus) does make some sense - I'm just a fan of good and creative use of the language (see recent post regarding "Abusive language").
But here is a SHORT list: Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series (at least, the first 6 books of it, the rest have been a bit less than imressive and lead me to wonder if they now actually have a team of ghost writers doing the work instead), Isaac Asimov's Foundation and Robots series, The Shannara series, The Inappropriately named Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy "trilogy", The Road (Kerouac), Howl (Ginsberg), Neuromancer, most anything by Philip K. Dick, Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series, the ENTIRE HP Lovecraft selection, Edgar Allen Poe's works, Shakespeare, Ursula K. LeGuin's Earthsea trilogy, The Dictionary of the Khazars, various works by Umberto Eco, David Edding's various works, The Death of Common Sense in America (a must read for everyone!).... there are others, but this is getting a bit large so I'll stop here.


4. What is your favorite weekend activity, when you aren't stuck at work?

That's a really tough one... a lot of it truly depends on my mood. Some days I just want to zone in front of the TV and watch movies on DVD (I don't watch much TV at all these days)... sometimes I want to go see the flix on the big screen. Other times I'll go game geek and play PS2 or computer games or head out to play some pinball. And then there are times when I want to be creative with music and I will work on some new material to play. And of course, there are times when my creative juices are flowing in the video direction and I will edit video and try to make some humorous shorts. Sometimes wrenching on the cars gives me great satisfaction. A ride on the motorcycle never hurts me... a ride in the convertible is a fair second, with the top down. And, of course, flirting with the ladies... that's always fun.


5. Were you born a redneck or are you a convert? Tell me about it.

I am not a redneck. I am not a redneck. This is the mantra I keep having to repeat each morning. Just cause I currently own something like 8 cars and 3.5 motorcycles does NOT mean I am a redneck. Just cause I stand out on the deck in the morning in my skivvies drinking coffee and havin a smoke does NOT mean I am a redneck.
I moved from Hawaii to Virginia at the tender age of 12. I had a really tough time with the language - saying "y'all" isn't as easy as it sounds - I avoided it for the better part of 3 years and then something inside just caved in.

Eventually, I started wearing flannel...

all the time...

... and then came the cars. (with links to pics of cars that aren't mine)

First it was just one, and then another, and then I just couldn't help myself from picking up all these "project cars (the link is just a sampling, not a sales ploy)". I am on the mend though. I once had 3 Camaros, 2 of which actually ran, 1 for parts only... and now I am back down to 1. I once had 12 cars and/or trucks - I am down to 8... and by next Spring I hope to have that number down to 6.
But some ask me, SIX CARS? Who the hell needs that many? Okay, tell you what. You tell me which one to get rid of: 1992 Camaro (but mine has a hood, really) - the first car I bought and paid for all on my own, has working AC, a great stereo, still looks pretty nice, runs great, albeit with not so great gas mileage. A 1970-and-a-half Pontiac Firebird (picture is close, but sans hoodscoop). Pretty in black. Needs some body work. Runs pretty well. Nice stance and it's NOT the Camaro everyone thinks it is. Plans for this one seem to be targetting it for the 1/4-mile strip (drag). 1991 Volvo 740 (with the heated seats!!) - no pic is needed, you've seen a million of 'em- it's the "soccer mom car". Runs fine, paid for, heated seats, great extra emergency car. 1994 Honda Del Sol (the pic is red, mine is black) - 32mpg city/hard driving, 40 mpg highway... need I say more? Besides, it's half a convertible... and that's better than no convertible at all... and it's fun watching people's expressions as I get out of it. 1984 Nissan 4x4 (mine is in better shape than this pic) - Need a parts truck and something for those 5 days a year we have snow. and the best one: a 1972 Cutlass 442 Convertible, (the link here is what I hope to achieve with mine), with an arrow straight body... very collectible. This is my best project car and when she's done, she's gonna be sweet. Really. Just can't let this one go...

Wait, I still haven't answered your question...

Umm, well, to me, a redneck is the type of person who will go out drinking, actively seeking to get drunk and definitely up for getting into some brawl of some sort. He doesn't care what you think and he'll certainly get in your face to let you know about it. He might have a bunch of cars and buy a house largely based on the size of its garage (which I did, in fact, do), and like to stand out half-dressed on his deck in the afternoons (which I also do, but hey, it's my house)... BUT, and it's a BIG but, rednecks don't get college educated. See, a redneck will say, in high school, "I'll be so damned glad to graduate so I won't never have to read another book again!" Me? I love books. So maybe you call me a pseudo-redneck? Maybe just a bit pink on the edges?


Damn I'm wordy... this is one meme amongst many

As per the rules:

1. If you want to participate, leave a comment saying "Interview me". ("Tickle me" or "Caress me" are not acceptable substitutes.) You must leave your blog address so that I can think of good questions for you.

2. I will respond by asking you five questions - each person's will be different. I'll post the questions in the comments section of this post.

3. You will update your blog with the answers to my questions.

4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview others in your post.

5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

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