I've been tagged again! Suddenly Susan had the nerve...the audacity...the unmitigated gall – to tag me. So I'll play her little game. And I'll get her – and her little dog, too! Anyway, this time the tag is a bit more interesting. So without further ado, here's the Golden Twenty:
#20. I now own two cats. I can't believe it myself. Orangee and the Unnamed. But I am still a man. I AM!
#19. My stepfather and father have the same first and last names – William Hurt – a complete coincidence. No one believes me and it was hell to explain to school financial aid offices: "Didn't Mr. Hurt turn in a tax form last year for the application? And this is a different Mr. Hurt?"
#18. I used to play JV water polo and was on the swim team in high school and had a 4% body fat percentage. Heh. Nobody believes that one. At all. No way, man. 설마?!
#17. I was once was an exchange student in Germany, where I lived with my host brother and sister Malte and Wiebke, respectively. I spoke German and even wore Lederhosen once for a party. But I am still a Black man, dammit! I AM!
#16. I like old country music and bluegrass, my favorite singer is George Jones, and I have a LOT of country tunes on my iPod. I feel like I'm keeping a big secret when I walk around listening to it. But that doesn't mean I'm not Black, does it? I AM, though, right?!
#15. I have never imbibed any illegal drug and never smoked a cigarette. Actually, these two facts are related, the latter state of not being physically able to smoke making the former state nearly inevitable.
#14. I get violently sick within hours of drinking coffee and projectile vomit everywhere. I don't even like the smell of coffee. I don't even really like going into Starbucks or The Coffee Bean. It's like a lifetime vegetarian going to a slaughter/steakhouse. OK, maybe it's not that bad. But don't ask me if I want to meet you for coffee anymore, dammit! You've been warned!
#13. I actively start to judge the personality of most people I meet by first looking at their shoes, and I still believe that shoes are the best initial, superficial indicator of personality.
#12. No matter how many podcasts I do – I hate the sound of my own voice. I just swallow my bile every time I hear it, since I know that everybody is supposed to hate the sound of their own voice. But just because I know I'm supposed to doesn't make me hate it any less.
#11. I actually enjoyed about half of the heavily panned (for good reason!) Alien vs. Predator movie and own the special edition. But I've been an AvP fan since the concept was coined back in the late 80's.
#10. I was a rabid Star Trek fan and have a picture of myself standing between Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock, courtesy on Universal Studios.
#9. I have watched James Cameron Aliens probably more than 1000 times and can recite the lines without mistake or hesitation: Lt. Gorman: "Ok. Now listen up. I want this thing to go smooth and by the numbers. I want DCS and tactical database assimilation by O – 8:30. Dropship and weapons prep details will have priority. Now move out!" St. Apone: "Alright, now you heard the man and you know the drill! Assholes and elbows! Hudson, come here. Come here!" That's from rote, not the Internet. This mind's an Aliens steel trap, baby.
#8. My first SLR camera was given to me as a Christmas present by my dad when I was in 7th grade – the Canon AE-1 Program. My Canon T-90, the state-of-the-art at that time, was finagled by me the very next Christmas.
#7. I hate Japanese anime. Just never liked it. Don't know why. Don't even like Sailor Moon, naughty school uniform notwithstanding. I just frickin' don't get anime, man!
#6. I think the Old Country Buffet (a.k.a Hometown Buffet) is the pinnacle of American cuisine. Sue me – I'm an uncouth, unwashed heathen.
#5. I thought Monica Lewinsky was kinda hot in a naughty, don't-tell-anybody, throw-that-bone-in-the-closet kinda way. Everybody thinks I'm weird. So be it. I still don't like Japanese anime! And these people call me weird? People who collect videos of half-naked, cartoon-character women fighting in oversized battle robots in space and making nasty, sexually suggestive sounds every time they get knocked around – they call me weird? At least Monica's a person. Frickin' Japanese anime. Sheesh!
#4. I went to a ritzy boarding school on the east coast for school. I once liked a girl named Effie. And I rowed crew for a semester. Shit – am I really Black? Hehe.
#3. I thought Pee Wee's Playhouse was sheer genius.
#2. It took me two days to think of anything past ten things to say in this list. This entry is actually filler so I can get to numero uno.
#1. I hate soccer and I don't regret not having been here for the World Cup, having arrived 3 months after. I think soccer is boring, there isn't enough scoring, and I hate standing in crowds doing dances and group cheers and gestures. Too 1930's Germanesque for me.
