About Me
Height: 6 feet, 1 inch
Weight: 225 pounds
Marital Status: Single but attached
My sense of humor is best compared to: Steve Martin, Gary Larson and the guy who does those Doodie cartoons.
Blondes, redheads or brunettes?: Brunettes
My brushes with fame: I saw Buddy Rich play at a nightclub in the early 1980's. I didn't meet him personally but during a break in the performance, I met his bus driver and was allowed on the tour bus for a few minutes. I ran into Jeremy Irons at the Venice airport in 2006; brushed past Stephen King on a street in Manhattan; and have exchanged emails with Wil Wheaton.
My idols and influences: Mike Royko, Lewis Grizzard, John Bonham, Steve Martin and Edward Packard
Famous women I dig: Marisa Tomei, Janeane Garofalo, Asia Argento, Kate Beckinsale, Salma Hayek, Angelina Jolie, Drew Barrymore and Diane Lane
Favorite ethnic food: Mexican
Favorite fast food: Taco Bell, Qdoba, Chipotle and Popeyes.
Favorite pizza: Cassano's
Favorite beverage: "Southern Style" Sweet Tea
Favorite soda: Coca-Cola
Favorite band: Led Zeppelin
Favorite books: Ivanhoe, The Cave of Time, The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles, A Tale of Two Cities
Favorite movie: Too many to choose from, but here are some of my all-time favorites.
Last movie I watched in a theater: The International *** stars
Last movie I watched at a drive-in: Mission Impossible III ** 1/2 stars
Last movie I watched on DVD/Blu-ray: The Dark Knight **** stars
When I watch TV I usually watch: Top Chef, Nip/Tuck, Rescue Me, House, M.D., The History Channel, The Discovery Channel, Spike TV, and any of the cool retrospectives or reality shows on VH1.
What are my pet peeves: Blowing your nose at the dinner table; using your cell phone while driving or in a publicly disruptive fashion (movie theater, etc.)
Other strange facts:
My father was killed in a motorcycle accident when I was eight years old.
My maternal grandmother claimed to have visions. The night before my father's death, she experienced a vision of an impending motorcycle accident. Believing the accident would occur to her own son, she picked up the phone to warn him. However, she had accidentally dialed my father's phone number instead. Without mentioning the vision, she apologized to my dad for the error, hung up the phone and called her son to warn him to be careful.
It weirds me out knowing that I have outlived my father.
I have a number of half brothers, a half sister and one "full" brother.
To say the least, my father led a double life...squared.
During the World Wide Web's infancy, I contributed stories to a moderately popular online soap opera. I didn't get paid a dime, but it was a fun way to pass the time.
I owe my life to a brutal, unsolved murder.
One of my brothers is trying to find his mother's killer. View both of his TV interviews here and here.
My sister has a blog and is a great writer.
I didn't know of my sister until I was in high school.
I didn't talk to my sister until 2001.
In 2000, I learned I have another older brother and met him that year.
One of my favorite smells is the aroma of gasoline.
When I was 2 years old, I drank a pint of gasoline and never had my stomach pumped...and my IQ serves as mute testimony.
I find suntans unattractive.
I'm not very materialistic.
I neither wear a watch nor jewelry.
I sometimes crave dill pickles drenched in Kikkoman® soy sauce.
When I was a kid, my evil step-father derived pleasure from forcing me and my brother to eat especially spicy food (see "My Own Personal Hell" listed above)...and yet now I love to eat especially spicy food.
One of my dreams is to live on the coast...which, of course, is why I chose to live in the Midwest, near a polluted river.
I've had an unusual fascination with shipwreck stories, sunken vessels and "tall ships" since childhood. It is one of the reasons why my domain name is SUNK.ORG. I was particularly haunted by Willy Stower's painting, "The Sinking of the Titanic."
I was among hundreds of people who helped save the last remaining White Star Line vessel from the scrap yard.
The glass is half-empty.
For a short stint in college, I was the host of a heavy metal radio show called, "120 Decibels."
I was a vegetarian for a little over a year. I fell off the wagon when I ate a beef MexiMelt at Taco Bell.
Since turning 30, I've rarely drunk alcohol.
One of my childhood pets was a Doberman my parents named "Stoney" because it kept having erections. I didn't get the joke until years later, when I experienced some stones of my own.
My cats have had their own webpage since 1997.
I don't particularly like football, but will watch a game if pressed.
I love baseball. I used to compile player stats and predict outcomes of games, just like my childhood idol, Pete Rose (bud-ump-bump). I enjoy all the great baseball movies, like "The Natural," "Field of Dreams," "Bull Durham" and "Major League."
I am not religious.
I'm an INFJ.
My political compass score is:
Economic Left/Right: -6.88
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -5.49I believe fusion energy --not fission energy-- will solve our energy problems many years from now...if only we don't run out of oil or blow ourselves up first.
In high school, I wanted to be the next John Bonham. Strangely, a brother I barely knew grew up to desire the exact same thing.
I miss my blue truck and my Firebird.
The first TV video game I ever played was Atari Pong, around 1979.
My first TV video game system was the Odyssey2, in 1980.
My first "home computer" was the Commodore 64., circa 1986.
My first exposure to the Internet was in 1989, when I began using chat rooms at my college's computer lab, enabling me to contact students from all over the world. This was on a system likely using BITNET or CSNET.
My first exposure to the World Wide Web was in 1995.
I created my first website in January, 1996.
While there have been many back-end changes and additions over the years, the overall look/feel of my personal website hasn't changed since March, 1998.
I have never owned a cell phone and have no intention of getting one.
At work I use a right-handed mouse while at home I use a left-handed mouse.
I enjoy perusing personal websites --send me yours if you've got one.