20 Things About 4-1-1 ...Corpgent’s W/O
Apr 18 '03
The Bottom Line 20 useless things about me....
I thank CORPGENT for inviting me to this hugely popular write-off: 20 or So Facts About Me. Check out his profile page for a list of all participants.
Now then: 20 useless things about me...
1. Foreign Born and graying. I was born on September 18, 1959, in Frankfurt, Germany. My dad was U.S. Army soldier and my mom was a German citizen. When I was young, our family traveled quite a lot. I attended three different elementary schools, two different junior high schools, three different high schools and two different colleges. B.S. degree in Business Administration/Accounting.
2. My Natal Chart. I'm a third decan Virgo. Planetary positions at the time of my birth:
Sun in Virgo, 6th house. Moon in Aries, 1st house (rising sign); the moon was in its 3rd quarter and moving slowly.
Mercury, Venus and Pluto in Virgo
Mars in Libra
Jupiter and Neptune in Scorpio
Saturn in Capricorn
Uranus in Leo
Chiron in Aquarius.
What's that mean? Hmmm... that I am modest, I have a strong sense of duty, I tend to be fussy about rules, I like to help others, I am imaginative and sensitive to feelings within myself. I am analytical, practical, methodical... and shy. Sexually I like the "soft lights and soft music" approach.
Lest you get the wrong idea, I do not believe in astrology. I just happened to take a parapsychology course at a community college one year in the interest of learning more about paranormal phenomenon. My actual thoughts on astrology: it's a belief system--like most any other--devised in ancient times by people with a very limited understanding of the solar system. It is continually being reinvented whenever new knowledge of the heavens is discovered. It's a pseudo science; a small part of a whole; an artful stab at explaining the workings of the cosmos. It's an interesting parlor game that is, perhaps, just as valid as any other personality assessment model that has been devised (e.g., those developed by Carl Jung, Myers-Briggs, or David Keirsey -- http://keirsey.com/).
3. Travel. Although I now consider myself pretty much a "home body," I enjoy traveling. I lived in Germany for seven years and have returned to Europe several times. I've visited 12 different countries (13, if you count the former East Germany), and have traveled throughout the United States (35 or so different states, plus Washington D.C. on several occasions). I currently reside in California, but would like to move to Nevada, Arizona or somewhere back east... perhaps Pennsylvania or South Carolina.
4. Literature. I have a fairly large library; certainly over 1000 titles with several signed first editions. What I enjoy reading most is 19th century English literature and early 20th century German lit. Some of my favorite authors: Thomas Hardy, Thomas Mann (Buddenbrooks, Magic Mountain), Hermann Hesse (Demian, Narziss und Goldmund), Theodore Fontane (Irrungen, Wirrungen). Two of the most entertaining books I read were Wilkie Collins' Moonstone and Das Parfum - Die Geschichte eines Morders (Perfume) by Patrick Suskind. The most thought-provoking and mind-altering book I ever read was Barbara Thiering's Jesus and the Riddle of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
5. Entertainment. I don't watch television very often -- in recent months, only about ½ hour a night (and that would be to catch the late night news). I used to be a fairly dedicated fan of NBC's series, ER. However, I have not watched an episode in about a year. Some of my favorite television programming would include: PBS's presentation of Joseph Campbell and The Power of Myth (with Bill Moyers; I have the series on laser disk and DVD), Carl Sagan's Cosmos series, and old Monty Python's Flying Circus television programs. I listen to talk radio a lot, tuning in to KFI640 AM Los Angeles. My favorite radio personality is Phil Hendrie. The man is a comic genius.
6. Pets. I am not a pet person. I don't particularly like cats. I think they are beautiful creatures, sure, but I wouldn't want one. The hairballs, the scratched furniture, the dander, the vet bills... no, thank you.
7. Piercings or Tattoos. I don't have any piercings or tattoos.
8. Technology. I have long been a gadget freak. I purchased my first laser disk player in 1982, my first CD player was a 1st generation 1984 model (Pioneer). I have built/owned over two dozen different computer systems and am a constant tinkerer. My first computer was an early 1979 model RadioShack TRS-80 featuring a whopping 16 kilobytes of RAM and a cassette tape storage system. I learned BASIC programming on a DEC PDP-11/45 and COBOL on an IBM 370 (talk about your old time dinosaurs). Other computers I've had: Apple IIe (one of my favorites), Apple IIc, Apple IIgs, Apple Macintosh LC2, Apple Macintosh Performa 630, Apple Macintosh iMac, an 8088 "Leading Edge" PC clone, a couple of 386 machines (16, 25 and 40 MHz models), several 486 machines (25, DX2-50, DX2-66, DX2-80 and DX4-120 models), a couple different 586/686 machines (166MHz; 266MHz, 300 MHZ and 500Mhz), AMD Athlon systems (800 Mhz, plus two 1.8 GHz systems that I still use), and... my current system is a 2.4Ghz P-4 system running Windows XP Professional that I built late last year. I think I'll keep it for a while.
9. Music. I listen to music just about every day. I have well over a thousand albums in my collection and about 10,000 MP3 files on my computer (all ripped from my personal collection of CDs; I don't use file-sharing services). I consider the Cowboy Junkies and Van Morrison among my favorite artists, but also like old Blues masters like Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker. I try to stay current with trends, but sometimes I will reach back into my pile of oldies and throw on Supertramp's Crime of the Century or Yes' Fragile. Some of the most memorable concerts I have attended include Neil Young in a solo-acoustic set at the Pacific Amphitheater in Costa Mesa (front row seats) with a spectacular opening performance by Maria McKee (formerly with Lone Justice), and Peter Gabriel in Basil, Switzerland.
10. Epinions. I enjoy the Epinions.com site and have been a fairly regular contributor, reader and rater. I've been posting about one review per day for the past 34 months, but am beginning to slow down significantly.
11. Art. My favorite artists are dead: the great surrealist, Salvador Dali, and the German romantic painter, Caspar David Friedrich.
http://www.salvador-dali.org/
http://www.artmagick.com/artists/friedrich.aspx?p=1
I was first introduced to Friedrich's art some 18 years ago. His art is more than nice, melancholic Romantic period fluff: it is imbued with some very rich, mystical symbolism. Friedrich conjoined bleak and terrifying aspects of nature along with the sublime to describe the elemental confrontation of man with infinity. His landscape paintings were an allegorical form of language that talked about such things as man's resemblance to God, reflections on death (an important theme), the promise of resurrection, the weakness and transitoriness of man as compared to God, etc. He used landscapes to represent religious experiences. In 1988, I had an opportunity to view a number of his paintings at the Neue Pinakothek in Munich, Germany.
12. Politics. I first registered as a Republican and was proud to vote for Ronald Reagan when I voted for the first time in a presidential election. I voted for Reagan again in 1984. George Bush in 1988. Ross Perot in 1992. Harry Browne in 1996 and 2000. I try not to get bent out of shape about politics and avoid most debates. I generally distrust the federal government. I think state government (here is California) is bloated and wasteful. In college, my heroes were Milton Friedman and Art Laffer (Laffer was the "Supply Side" professor at my university: U.S.C.). I am registered as a Libertarian today.
13. Religion. My dad was a Jack Mormon (born in Southern Colorado) until the time he met and married my mom, a Roman Catholic (a German, born in Hungary, near Budapest). My dad converted to Catholicism, and my brother, sister and I were raised Catholic (I use the term loosely). After "Confirmation," I stopped attending the Catholic church. For a brief time, 10 years ago, I attended a Lutheran church for a couple of years, but gave up on that as well. I think God has many faces, and no single religion has a monopoly on the truth.
14. Food. I don't much care for fast food. I like Cajun, Italian, German, Thai, Chinese... well, most any food. I am not very particular. I do enjoy a glass of wine with my meal. Or a beer. It depends upon what's on the plate.
15. Drink. It should come as no surprise to most readers here at Epinions that I enjoy adult beverages. I would say that I enjoy wine the most. But truth be told: the beverages that I seem to buy and drink the most are coffee (a pot a day) and Diet Coke.
16. Narcotics. I have never smoked pot, nor have I consumed any "illegal" drugs. That said, I am in favor of the decriminalization of all drugs.
17. Health. The last time I was hospitalized was to have my tonsils removed when I was about 5 years old. I never broken any bones. I rarely get sick; I rarely have headaches, and consider myself to be pretty lucky. I should drink more water. I enjoy walking.
18. Most Valued Possession. A complete collection (20 volumes) of Heinrich Heine's poetry and literary works published in the late 1800's; purchased at J.N. Bartfield Galleries and Books in New York City; a great place to shop for rare books: http://www.bartfield.com/
19. Favorite Quote. "What, me worry?" -- Alfred E. Neuman. Just kidding.
"Imagination is more important than knowledge." --Albert Einstein
And, being that I used to enjoy reading works by P.D. Ouspensky, I will offer something from one of his teachers, Georges Gurdjieff: "Awakening begins when a man realizes that he is going nowhere and does not know where to go."
20. Favorite Movies. I think Rainer Werner Fassbinder's Berlin Alexanderplatz (1980) is a stunning work. I also liked Alien, Contact, and, more recently, The Ring. I tend to like movies that are heavy with science fiction and the paranormal.
If you are reading these "20 Things About Me" submissions in Corpgent's grand Write-Off and haven't submitted on of your own... just do it.
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Epinions.com ID:
4-1-1
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Member: Tom Carr
Location: Southern California
Reviews written: 1090
Trusted by: 689 members
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