All-time favorites

Favorites

Social & Family Activities

beaches, dinner parties, picnics, zoos, exploring San Luis Obispo County, hiking, camping, church, barbequeing, listening to good music, going to concerts, good eats & drinks & talks at good, cheap restaurants

Personal Activities

fishing, making custom music albums, collecting & smoking cigars, reading (especially fairy tales), acting, and managing the Chocolate Chimps.

Sports to Play

tennis, basketball, softball, flag/tag football

Sports to Watch

baseball, football, basketball, rugby, tennis

Sports Heroes

Archie Manning, Tom Seaver, Joe Morgan, Johnny Bench, Henry Aaron, Pete Maravich, Paul Westphal, Walter Payton, Michael Jordan, Brett Favre, Magic Johnson, Greg Maddux

Music

americana, alt-country, power pop, bluegrass, jazz, rock & roll, funk, soul, blues, pre-1983 rhythm & blues, classic country, classical

Artworks

Novels: The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving, Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor, Phantastes and Lilith by George MacDonald, Wicked by Gregory Maguire, The Book of the Dun Cow by Walter Wangerin

Albums: Humans by Bruce Cockburn, Happy to Be Here by Todd Snider, Train A Comin' by Steve Earle, A.M. and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot by Wilco, Trace by Son Volt, Revival by Gillian Welch, The River, Nebraska, and Born in the USA by Bruce Springsteen, Highway 61 Revisited, Blonde on Blonde, Oh Mercy, and Love and Theft by Bob Dylan, Dry Bones Dance and Satellite Sky by Mark Heard, The Blue Mask by Lou Reed, A Pagan Place by The Waterboys, Blasters by The Blasters, Marshall Crenshaw by Marshall Crenshaw, Proof Through the Night by T-Bone Burnett, King of America by Elvis Costello, Murmur, Reckoning, and Fables of the Reconstruction by R.E.M., The Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby, and The Unforgettable Fire by U2, Sleepless by Peter Wolf, It Came From Nashville by Webb Wilder and the Beatnecks, Fervor by Jason and the Nashville Scorchers

Movies: The Lord of the Rings (extended version), Tender Mercies, Tootsie, Some Like It Hot, Schindler's List, Dances With Wolves, Being There, Batman, Batman Begins, Rebecca, Vertigo, Unforgiven, Dr. Strangelove, The Matrix, AI, The Sting, Bladerunner, The Godfather, 2001: A Space Oddyssey, Sweet Smell of Success, Planet of the Apes (1968), Monty Python and the Holy Grail, The Shining, Crimes and Misdemeanors, The Wizard of Oz

Live Rock and Roll Shows

Webb Wilder & the Beatnecks (W.C. Don's, Jackson, MS: several shows 1983-86)
Jason & the Scorchers (Hal & Mal's, Jackson, MS 1993?)
Bob Dylan with Todd Snider (Jackson City Auditorium, Jackson, MS 1994?)
Bruce Springsteen (Buffalo, NY 2002)
R.E.M. (Jackson City Auditorium, Jackson, MS 1988)
Big Country (Memphis, TN 1985)
Will & the Bushmen (W.C. Don's, Jackson, MS: several shows 1986-88; The Dock, Jackson, MS 1989?)
Counting Crows and Sam Phillips (Hal & Mal's, Jackson, MS 1992)
The Replacements (Tuscaloosa, AL 1987)
North Mississippi Allstars (Milestones, Rochester, NY 2001)
U2 (LSU, Baton Rouge, LA (1988)
Rodney Crowell (The Graduate, San Luis Obispo, CA 2006)

Artists

J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Walker Percy, George Macdonald, Flannery O'Connor, R.S. Thomas, Robert Bly, Mark Heard, Steve Earle, R.E.M., U2, Bruce Springsteen, Old 97s, Elvis Costello, Wilco, Son Volt, Bob Dylan, Todd Snider, Steve Forbert, Bruce Cockburn, Lucinda Williams, Dwight Yoakam, Gillian Welch, North Mississippi Allstars, Webb Wilder, Sam Phillips, Marshall Crenshaw, Merle Haggard, Chuck Bradford, Baxter Knowlton, Odd Nerdrum, Richard Thompson, Maxfield Parrish, Walter Wangerin

Actors

Robert Duvall, Meryl Streep, Dustin Hoffman, Paul Newman, Kate Blanchett, Robert Dinero, Jack Nicholson, Emma Thompson, Dianne Keaton, Marlon Brando, Sean Penn, Ben Kingsley, Susan Sarandon, Jessica Lange, Clint Eastwood, Kevin Spacey, Anthony Hopkins, Hilary Swank, Jodi Foster, Sally Field, Johnny Depp, Christopher Walken, Ian McKellen, Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Michael Caine, Annette Bening, Jack Lemon, Jim Carrey, Joan Allen, Nicolas Cage, Charlton Heston, George C. Scott

Food

Steak (fillet mignon, ribeye, t-bone), Fish (salmon, fried catfish), Green Salad (various lettuces, avocado, cheese, kalamata olives, tomatoes, sesame seeds, and ranch dressing), homestyle soul food (cooked Southern), every kind of ethnic food I've tried (Thai, Indian, Greek, Chinese, Italian, Mexican, Vietnamese, Ethiopian), and almost everything else (heck, I love British food!), except stuff with very hot peppers or raw onions

Cigars

Arturo Fuente Hemingway Signature, Puros Indios #4

Drink

Real Ale (almost any bitter, but especially Felinfoel Double Dragon, Brains Best Bitter, and Brains S.A.), Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Firestone Double Barrel Ale, most India Pale Ales, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Syrrah, Sauvignon Blanc (with fish), Diet Vanilla Coke, Coca-Cola, Diet Lime Coke, Coca-Cola Zero, coffee, tea, Southern ice-tea (fresh-brewed, fairly weak, and sweet)

Watering Holes

The Old Toad, long may it thrive (Rochester, New York), Ozark Brewing Company (Fayetteville, Arkansas), Greyhound Inn (Oldwalls, Llanrhidian, The Gower Peninsula, Wales), The Wig and Pen (Swansea, Wales), The St. George (Swansea, Wales), Neuadd Arms Hotel (Llanwrtyd Wells, Wales)

Pro Teams

Atlanta Braves, Green Bay Packers, New Orleans Saints, Rochester Redwings, Seattle Mariners, New York Mets

Note: This website has not been endorsed or approved by California Polytechnic State University or the College of Liberal Arts.