i’m an open book – here are some things i love:
activities //
stuff that gets my blood flowing and brain ticking.
surfing. swimming. rain. water. ocean ocean ocean.
nature. gardening. camping. backpacking. running.
volunteering, serving others. art. literature. creative outlets.
motorcycles and bicycles. hiking and rock climbing.
spontaneity. travel, exploring, learning. adventure!
listening to music. dancing. pretending i can sing.
doing what i dream of doing, rather than just dreaming.
knowing how to relax, laugh, have faith, and be happy.
being with those i love and those that inspire me.
interests //
interesting people, places, things.
(refer to activities, above)
i love life.
music //
sounds that rattle my bones and shake me up inside.
i am really into florence and the machines, at moment.
also: jesse uriah fowler. nick cave. pink floyd. the fray. jeff buckley.
the cinematic orchestra. cat stevens deserves good mention, as well.
tracy chapman. fleet foxes. weezer. led zeppellin. brmc. m ward.
aa bondy. bob dylan. priscilla ahn. jenny lewis. bon iver. duffy.
red hot chili peppers. jets to brazil. bat for lashes. coldplay.
goo goo dolls. jaymay. ida maria. barlowgirl. evanescence. the who.
tristan prettyman. switchfoot. the enemy. lacuna coil. johnny cash.
edward sharpe and the magnetic zeros. a fine frenzy. jamie lidell.
jimi hendrix. lily allen (ja, i know). imogen heap. counting crows.
the bravery. creedence clearwater revival. linkin park. yo yo ma.
notable: i’m an avid fan of the flaming lips, and a very devoted
life-long beatles fan. all that sort of sound, and more …
ps: long live the mormon tabernacle choir.
television //
i don’t watch telly shows or series anymore
(partially due to the fact that i don’t own a television set).
i have some shows i don’t mind renting re-runs of,
but other than that, i see no point in making an appointment
each night with a box plugged into a wall. however, i will
admit that sometimes i do miss the distraction television
provides …. particularly top gear and doctor who.
not to mention iron chef japan. le sigh.
films //
café lumière. seven samurai. finding nemo. how to steal a million.
garden state. the secret of kells. state of play. the princess bride.
spirited away. up. eternal sunshine of the spotless mind. inception.
amélie. napoleon dynamite. howl’s moving castle. x-men. lotr.
motorcycle diaries. princess mononoke. stardust. yojimbo. tangled.
pan’s labyrinth. shaun of the dead. ponyo. stranger than fiction.
bourne trilogy. the savages. run fatboy run. my neighbor totoro.
nobody knows. most tim burton films. a fistful of dollars.
il y a longtemps que je t’aime. anything with toshiro mifune in it.
books //
anything that makes me a better person and opens up my mind.
books that get my emotions up and running. i enjoy both fiction and
non-fiction … the scriptures, jesus the christ (james e. talmage),
articles of faith (also by james e. talmage), the screwtape letters (c.s. lewis),
north and south (elizabeth gaskell), any of shakespeare’s works,
far from the madding crowd (thomas hardy), most of thomas hardy’s
other books, dreaming in hindi (katherine russell rich), the year of
magical thinking (joan didion), the count of monte cristo (alexandre
dumas), tales of the otori (liam hearn), the anatomy of peace
(arbinger institute), the lord of the rings series (j.r.r. tolkien),
pride and prejudice and zombies (jane austin, with seth
grahame-smith), the anatomy of peace (arbinger institute),
respect for acting (uta hagen), the elegance of the hedgehog
(muriel barbery), the time traveler’s wife (audrey niffenegger),
things fall apart (chinua achebe), the collective speeches and
writings of abraham lincoln, everything is illuminated (jonathan safran
foer), persepolis (marjane satrapi), the enemy within (robert f.
kennedy), the scarlet letter (nathaniel hawthorne), jimmy
corrigan – the smartest kid on earth (chris ware), the 5,000
year leap (w. cleon skousen), problems of art (suzanne k. langer),
marriage and other acts of charity (kate braestrup),
the autobiography of benjamin franklin … and so many more.
too many to list. i read more than most librarians could ever
hope to manage in their lifetimes.
for laughs //
abbott and costello. martin and lewis. steve coogan (alan partridge).
riders in the sky. mitch hedberg. brian regan. rhys darby. demetri martin.
it seems necessary to mention ‘fawlty towers‘ here as well, even though it’s a telly show.
quotes //
… ‘what? you too? i thought i was the only one …’ (c.s. lewis)
… ‘it’s so much easier to be happy, my love. it’s so much easier to choose to love the things that you have — and you have so much — instead of always yearning for what you’re missing, or what it is you’re imagining you’re missing.’ (from the movie ‘one true thing’ which is based off the book of the same title by anna quindlen)
… ‘each of us can do a little better than we have been doing. we can be a little more kind. we can be a little more merciful. we can be a little more forgiving. we can put behind us our weaknesses of the past, and go forth with new energy and increased resolution to improve the world around us, in our homes, in our places of employment, in our social activities. we have work to do, you and i, so very much of it. let us roll up our sleeves and get at it, with a a new commitment, putting our trust in the lord. we can do it, if we will be prayerful and faithful. we can do better than we have ever done before.’ (president gordon b. hinckley)
… ‘patriotism is not short, frenzied outbursts of emotion, but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime.’ (adlai stevenson)
… ‘all i ask of you is one thing: please don’t be cynical. i hate cynicism – it’s my least favourite quality and it doesn’t lead anywhere. nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get … but if you work really hard and you’re kind, amazing things will happen.’ (conan o’brien)
… ‘i have walked that long road to freedom. i have tried not to falter, i have made missteps along the way. but i have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. i have taken that moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surround me, to look back on the distance i have come. but i can only rest for a moment for with freedom comes responsiblities, and i dare not linger, for my long walk is not yet ended.’ (nelson mandela)
and because someone asked //
… i am very thankful to be a member of the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints. yes, mormons are christians.
… i am an american with international roots, and my political leanings are considered ‘moderate’ though i would say these days i have more conservative leanings than not. i have few politicians that i have any trust in, and that trust is conditional. i am more for the power of the people than for any one individual. i went to a libertarian high school and probably know more about the constitution and the founding fathers than most americans of my generation. i am currently registered as an independent in the united states of america.
… i have been a vegetarian, a environmentalist, and all that sort of thing – i’ve since moved on. many of those ’causes’ have been taken to extremes lately, and i don’t agree with a lot of it any more. what my thoughts on diet, environmentalism, and health boil down to, are that we need to be wise in our choices: we must take care of what we have been given, and do what we know is right.
