Four Things

By Stephanie Vardavas of Portland, Oregon. Stephanie is a liberal Democrat, an ardent feminist, a lawyer, a raging Macintosh thunder lizard evangelist, a diehard Baltimore Orioles fan, and an untalented but enthusiastic amateur photographer, not necessarily in that order. She has a weakness for shoes, bags, and showtunes.

BlueOregon is many things, but one of those things is a community.

Lately we spend so much time on our differences. I always enjoy discovering unexpected connections with people. Kevin did that the other day with his post about music. I thought I’d try going in a slightly different direction.

I got an email from my brother with a game in it. It's kind of a chain letter but it's a fun one. It's called "Four Things About Me." The concept is, after receiving the email from friend A with all of friend A's answers filled in, you respond to the series of factual questions with four answers of your own to each question. In the email version of the game, you then forward the mail to friends B, C, D, E, and down through your address book.

Here it'll be simpler. I'll list the questions with answer blanks. You can just copy and paste the questions into your comment box, and type in your own answers. I'll start off with my own.

FOUR MOVIES I'VE SEEN MORE THAN ONCE:
1. All About Eve
2. Star Wars (all of them)
3. Rocky Horror
4. Pecker

FOUR PLACES I HAVE LIVED:
1. Portland, OR
2. New York, NY
3. Parkville, MD
4. New Haven, CT

FOUR TELEVISION PROGRAMS I WATCH:
1. The Daily Show
2. The Colbert Report
3. The Late Show With David Letterman
4. 60 Minutes

FOUR FAVORITE PASTIME ACTIVITIES:
1. Reading actual paper books & magazines
2. Traveling
3. Hanging out online
4. Watching baseball in person or on TV

FOUR PLACES I HAVE BEEN:
1. Amsterdam
2. Shanghai
3. Paris
4. Bangkok

FOUR PLACES I WANT TO GO:
1. Moscow
2. Athens
3. Barcelona
4. Hanoi

FOUR FAVORITE THINGS TO EAT:
1. Caesar salad WITHOUT anchovies
2. French fries with satay (peanut) sauce
(with or without actual satay)
3. Meat loaf and mashed potatoes
4. Stuffed grape leaves

FOUR FOODS I DON'T LIKE:
1. Beer
2. Peppers (I'm allergic)
3. Avocadoes
4. Sour cream

FOUR MUSICIANS / BANDS / GROUPS I LIKE:
1. Elton John
2. James Taylor
3. Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young
4. U2

BONUS QUESTION – THE ONE SONG I HATE MORE THAN ANY OTHER:
“Having My Baby”

And to get things started, here are blank questions for you to copy, paste, and fill in. I look forward to reading your responses.


FOUR MOVIES I'VE SEEN MORE THAN ONCE:
1.
2.
3.
4.

FOUR PLACES I HAVE LIVED:
1.
2.
3.
4.

FOUR TELEVISION PROGRAMS I WATCH:
1.
2.
3.
4.

FOUR FAVORITE PASTIME ACTIVITIES:
1.
2.
3.
4.

FOUR PLACES I HAVE BEEN:
1.
2.
3.
4.

FOUR PLACES I WANT TO GO:
1.
2.
3.
4.

FOUR FAVORITE THINGS TO EAT:
1.
2.
3.
4.

FOUR FOODS I DON'T LIKE:
1.
2.
3.
4.

FOUR MUSICIANS / BANDS / GROUPS I LIKE:
1.
2.
3.
4.

BONUS QUESTION – THE ONE SONG I HATE MORE THAN ANY OTHER:
1.

  • (Show?)

    FOUR MOVIES I'VE SEEN MORE THAN ONCE: 1.The Quiet Man 2.Casablanca 3.Rear Window 4.Some Like It Hot

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE LIVED: 1.Poulsbo, Washington 2.John Day, Oregon 3. Beaverton, Oregon 4.Silverdale, Washington

    FOUR TELEVISION PROGRAMS I WATCH: 1.Lost 2.Antiques Roadshow 3.America's Next Top Model (bonding with my 14 year old) 4.The Daily Show

    FOUR FAVORITE PASTIME ACTIVITIES: 1.Reading 2.Gardening 3.Photography 4.Writing

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE BEEN: 1.London 2.Paris 3.St. Maarten 4.Clinton, Arkansas

    FOUR PLACES I WANT TO GO: 1.Rome 2.Athens 3.Florence 4.Madrid

    FOUR FAVORITE THINGS TO EAT: 1.potatoes (mash em, bake em, fry em..don't care) 2.cheese 3.chocolate 4.bread

    FOUR FOODS I DON'T LIKE: 1.lima beans 2.sushi 3.black licorice 4.lamb

    FOUR MUSICIANS / BANDS / GROUPS I LIKE: 1.Elton John 2.Queen 3.The Rolling Stones 4.early Van Halen

    BONUS QUESTION – THE ONE SONG I HATE MORE THAN ANY OTHER: 1. Anything by Rick Astley (UGH)

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    Ha! I don't like lima beans or black licorice either!

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    Hey, don't be dissing Lima Beans! I love 'em! ;-)

    Excellent post, Stephanie. I'll give a more detailed comment later when I have more time but for now I just wanted to express how much I enjoyed reading it. I too enjoy learning of unexpected commonalities with other progressives.

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    Carla,

    There is only one Van Halen! The other entity to which you refer is more accurately referred to as Van Hagar.

    I'm just sayin'...

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    What fun. Here goes:

    These are not in any particular order.

    FOUR MOVIES I'VE SEEN MORE THAN ONCE: 1. The Third Man 2. Princess Bride 3. Immortal Beloved 4. Rear Window

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE LIVED: 1. Newbury, Vt. 2. La Grande, Ore. 3. Wallace, Idaho 4. Northborough, Mass.

    FOUR TELEVISION PROGRAMS I WATCH: 1. The Daily Show 2. Baseball Tonight 3. Family Guy 4. Futurama

    FOUR FAVORITE PASTIME ACTIVITIES: 1. Reading history 2. Listening to Beethoven 3. Watching the Red Sox 4. Answer questions about the delegate selection process

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE BEEN: 1. Washington, DC 2. Hells Canyon 3. Mt. Katahdin, Maine 4. Montreal

    FOUR PLACES I WANT TO GO: 1. England 2. Prince Edward Island 3. Vancouver, BC 4. Lincoln's home in Illinois

    FOUR FAVORITE THINGS TO EAT: 1. Moxie (New England soft drink) 2. mince pie 3. haddock 4. meat loaf

    FOUR FOODS I DON'T LIKE: 1. carrots 2. green and red pepper 3. liver 4. avocado

    FOUR MUSICIANS / BANDS / GROUPS I LIKE: 1. Pink Floyd 2. Dire Straits 3. REM 4. Yardbirds

    BONUS QUESTION – THE ONE SONG I HATE MORE THAN ANY OTHER: 1. There's so many -- I can't pick one

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    FOUR MOVIES I'VE SEEN MORE THAN ONCE: 1.A Clockwork Orange 2.Raising Arizona 3.Blade Runner (d.c.) 4.Fire Walk with Me

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE LIVED: 1.Seattle Washington 2.Puerto Guarani, Paraguay 3.Sisters, Oregon 4.Esfahan, Iran

    FOUR TELEVISION PROGRAMS I WATCH: 1.Dexter 2.Queer as Folk 3.Torchwood 4.Lost

    FOUR FAVORITE PASTIME ACTIVITIES: 1.Reading fiction 2.Metal sculpting 3.Motorcycle touring 4.Arguing

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE BEEN: 1.Mexico 2.Costa Rica 3.Spain 4.England

    FOUR PLACES I WANT TO GO: 1.Anywhere in the Caribbean 2.Space 3.Ireland 4.New Zeland

    FOUR FAVORITE THINGS TO EAT: 1.Those little pie dough cinnamon rolls from New Seasons 2.Dry Rub ribs 3.Home made Salsa with lots of cilentro 4.Indian/Pakistani food (moderately hot)

    FOUR FOODS I DON'T LIKE: 1.Pacific Rim Cuisine 2.Squash 3.Veal 4.Bratwurst

    FOUR MUSICIANS / BANDS / GROUPS I LIKE: 1.John Prine 2.Joy of Cooking 3.Patti Smith 4.Leonard Cohen

    BONUS QUESTION – THE ONE SONG I HATE MORE THAN ANY OTHER: 1.Too many choices

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    FOUR MOVIES I'VE SEEN MORE THAN ONCE: 1. Coal Miner's Daughter (don't ask why it's just a weakness) 2. Henry and June 3. The Quiet Man 4. Alien

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE LIVED: 1. Dallas, Texas 2. Corsicana, Texas 3. Beaverton, Oregon 4. Portland, Oregon

    FOUR TELEVISION PROGRAMS I WATCH: 1. Nature (OPB is a must without cable!) 2. CSI the Original 3. Numbers 4. Bones

    FOUR FAVORITE PASTIME ACTIVITIES: 1. Reading 2. Cooking 3. Collecting Recipes 4. Playing with my Bunny:)

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE BEEN: 1. Greece 2. Washington, D.C. 3. Virginia 4. Mexico

    FOUR PLACES I WANT TO GO: 1. Norway 2. Ireland 3. Turkey 4. Canada

    FOUR FAVORITE THINGS TO EAT: 1. Chocolate! 2. Rice 3. Guacamole 4. Asparagus

    FOUR FOODS I DON'T LIKE: 1. Liver (shouldn't even be legal!) 2. Coconut 3. Brussel Sprouts 4. Corned Beef

    FOUR MUSICIANS / BANDS / GROUPS I LIKE: 1. Stevie Nicks 2. Sheryl Crow 3. Sarah Brightman 4. Marvin Gaye

    Thanks for a fun start to my day Stephanie.:)

  • Tom Civiletti (unverified)
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    Without anchovies, it's not Caesar salad.

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    buzzkill!

    Get in there and ANSWER THE DAMN QUESTIONS before you start criticizing the rest of us, pal.

  • Tom Civiletti (unverified)
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    FOUR MOVIES I'VE SEEN MORE THAN ONCE: 1. Casablanca 2. The Wizard of Oz 3. Being John Malkovich 4. How to Get a Head in Advertising

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE LIVED: 1. Manhattan, NY 2. Orange, PA 3. Hyde Park, IL 4. Huntington Beach, CA

    FOUR TELEVISION PROGRAMS I WATCH: 1. NOW 2. Bill Moyer's Journal 3. The Daily Show 4. South Park

    FOUR FAVORITE PASTIME ACTIVITIES: 1. photography 2. gardening 3. making love 4. thinking about any of the above

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE BEEN: 1. Montreal 2. Costa Rica 3. Zion 4. my head

    FOUR PLACES I WANT TO GO: 1. Iran 2. Italy 3. Bali 4. my heart

    FOUR FAVORITE THINGS TO EAT: 1. pizza 2. chocolate 3. berries 4. tomatoes with garlic

    FOUR FOODS I DON'T LIKE: 1. liver 2. kidneys 3. tripe 4. sweetmeats

    FOUR MUSICIANS / BANDS / GROUPS I LIKE: 1. Bob Marley 2. Bob Dylan 3. Leonard Cohen 4. Joni Mitchell

    BONUS QUESTION – THE ONE SONG I HATE MORE THAN ANY OTHER: 1. Alone Again Naturally

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    Stephanie,

    Thanks for coming out to play. After taking a quick look at your "site under construction", I can see that we share a lot of "likes".

    I do like me some Oscar Wilde, mostly the bon mots but The Importance of being Earnest is a favorite play, and (although I haven't read much Jane Austin), I've watched about a half dozen different versions of Pride anad Prejucice over the years.

    Then there's the whole chocolate chip cookie thing (so rarely done in the authentic old school style). My favorite in Portland are the ones from Elephant Deli.

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    FOUR MOVIES I'VE SEEN MORE THAN ONCE: 1. Night of the Living Dead 2. Invasion of the Body Snatcher 3. Star Wars - all of 'em 4. Disney movies - all of em' (sigh)

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE LIVED: 1. Cave Junction, Oregon 2. Collonge-sous-Saleve, France 3. Albuquerque, New Mexico 4. Riverside, California

    FOUR TELEVISION PROGRAMS I WATCH: 1. The Antiques Roadshow 2. This Old House 3. South Park 4. The Simpsons

    FOUR FAVORITE PASTIME ACTIVITIES: (in no particular order) 1. Making Rainsticks 2. Cooking tasty food 3. Watching cooking shows on TV 4. The Wild and Wooly Worldwide Web

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE BEEN: 1. Florence, Italy 2. Montego Bay, Jamaica 3. Nice, France 4. Niagra Falls, Ontario, Canada

    FOUR PLACES I WANT TO GO: 1. Anywhere in Wales. 2. Faro Island, Sweden 3. Athens, Greece 4. Giza, Egypt

    FOUR FAVORITE THINGS TO EAT: 1. Lasagna 2. Chili (unless it's made with Kidney Beans) 3. Beef Ribs 4. Lima beans (ha!)

    FOUR FOODS I DON'T LIKE: 1. BEETS (I'm sorry but I will NOT eat anything translucent purple!) 2. Lentils 3. Peanut Butter Loaf 4. Liver

    FOUR MUSICIANS / BANDS / GROUPS I LIKE: 1. Ozzy 2. REM 3. Israel_Kamakawiwo'ole 4. Pink Floyd

    BONUS QUESTION – THE ONE SONG I HATE MORE THAN ANY OTHER: 1. Country (aka Suicide Music)... all of it.

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    An excellent Saturday morning activity to distract me from studying for finals! Thanks, Stephanie!

    FOUR MOVIES I'VE SEEN MORE THAN ONCE: 1. Fight Club 2. Easy Rider 3. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels 4. Boondock Saints

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE LIVED: 1. Tualatin, OR 2. Eugene, OR 3. Washington, DC 4.

    FOUR TELEVISION PROGRAMS I WATCH: 1. The O'Reilly Factor 2. Hannity & Colmes 3. Arrested Development (on DVD) 4. Any hockey game

    FOUR FAVORITE PASTIME ACTIVITIES: 1. Reading 2. Cycling 3. Digg.com 4. Playing guitar/trumpet

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE BEEN: 1. Galway, Ireland 2. Juarez, Mexico 3. Hamburg, Deutschland 4. Tuscany, Italy

    FOUR PLACES I WANT TO GO: 1. Beirut, Lebanon 2. Nablus, West Bank 3. All over Greece 4. Marrakesh, Morocco

    FOUR FAVORITE THINGS TO EAT: 1. Higher Taste's "Portland's Best BBQ" sandwich 2. Bay Leaf's wild yam delight 3. Veganopolis' democracy burger 4. Falafel/hummus/pita/grape leaves/etc.

    FOUR FOODS I DON'T LIKE: 1. Pickles 2. Mustard 3. Horseradish 4. Uh, I suppose anything not vegan?

    FOUR MUSICIANS / BANDS / GROUPS I LIKE: 1. Menomena 2. The Dandy Warhols 3. Elliott Smith 4. TalkDemonic

    BONUS QUESTION – THE ONE SONG I HATE MORE THAN ANY OTHER: 1. "Snow" by Red Hot Chili Peppers "Hey-oh, listen what I say-oh" ? Give me a break...

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    At the risk of branding myself a total nerd, here goes:

    FOUR MOVIES I'VE SEEN MORE THAN ONCE: 1.Lord of the Rings (all three) 2.Howard's End 3.This Is Spinal Tap 4.Raising Arizona

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE LIVED: 1.Stockholm, Sweden 2.Sun Valley, Idaho 3.Toronto, Ontario 4.Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia

    FOUR TELEVISION PROGRAMS I WATCH: 1.Lost 2.Big Love 3.The Tudors 4.Masterpiece Theater "Classic"

    FOUR FAVORITE PASTIME ACTIVITIES: 1.Skiing 2.Reading 3.Cooking 4.Going to local craft/artisan fairs

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE BEEN: 1.Prague 2.Cote d'Azur 3.Greece 4.East Germany, right after the wall fell

    FOUR PLACES I WANT TO GO: 1.New Zealand 2.Antarctica 3.Australia 4.New York City

    FOUR FAVORITE THINGS TO EAT: 1.Dark chocolate 2.Brussel sprouts (really!) 3.Mashed potatoes (or any other kind of potatoes) 4.Red wine (does that count?)

    FOUR FOODS I DON'T LIKE: 1.Veal 2.Lamb 3.Liver 4.Hmmm...can't think of a fourth

    FOUR MUSICIANS / BANDS / GROUPS I LIKE: 1.Beck 2.Amelia 3.U2 4.The Shins

    BONUS QUESTION – THE ONE SONG I HATE MORE THAN ANY OTHER: 1. "Afternoon Delight"

  • Katherine (unverified)
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    FOUR MOVIES I'VE SEEN MORE THAN ONCE: 1. La Femme Nikita 2. Mr. & Mrs. Smith 3. Matewan 4. The Client

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE LIVED: 1. Fairbanks, Alaska 2. Grants Pass, Oregon 3. Portland, Oregon 4. --------

    FOUR TELEVISION PROGRAMS I WATCH: 1. Antique Roadshow (I have a reminder set up in my calendar) 2. Anything HGTV 3. Jeff Foxworthy's "redneck shows" on CMT 4. Bill Moyers

    FOUR FAVORITE PASTIME ACTIVITIES: 1. Gardening 2. Reading 3. Playing/walking my foster dog I'm caring for 4. Hanging out with my 8 yr. old goddaughter

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE BEEN: 1. Almost all 50 states 2. Mexico 3. Canada-all over 4. ---------

    FOUR PLACES I WANT TO GO: 1. Anywhere in Europe 2. Anywhere in Asia 3. Anywhere in Africa 4. Australia

    FOUR FAVORITE THINGS TO EAT: 1. Tacos (almost any Mexican food, but Tacos are my fav) 2. Cheesecake 3. Ice Cream (Ben & Jerry's NY Super Fudge Chunk) 4. Anything chocolate

    FOUR FOODS I DON'T LIKE: 1. Cucumber seeds 2. Lima Beans 3. Boiled Okra (will eat it fried, in a casserole, gumbo, etc, but not boiled) 4. Peas in a bowl. (will eat in soups/stews, salads, casseroles, but not "stand alone. Yuck)

    FOUR MUSICIANS / BANDS / GROUPS I LIKE: 1. Elvis 2. Beetles 3. Dana Owens (aka Queen Latifia) 4. U2

    BONUS QUESTION – THE ONE SONG I HATE MORE THAN ANY OTHER: 1. Billy Don't Be a Hero (I was going to put Paul Anka's tune, "Having My Baby" but someone else in their great wisdom beat me to it.)

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    I'm noticing some trends here.

    Nobody seems to like liver or other organ meats. I certainly don't, although it did not occur to me to mention it. Brussels sprouts are another strong contender for most-disliked food, and I share that one too. Also, Kevin and I share one very important preference: we both hate beets. It's so nice to be reminded of other foods I hate when I am trying to lose weight!

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    Brussel sprouts??? Most-disliked? You people don't know what you are missing...

  • Charlie Burr (unverified)
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    FOUR MOVIES I'VE SEEN MORE THAN ONCE: 1. I'm Trying to Break Your Heart 2. Fog of War 3. Fitzcaraldo 4. The Big Lebowski

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE LIVED: 1. Memphis, Tn. 2. Brooklyn, NY 3. Ashland, OR 4. Flagstaff, AZ

    FOUR TELEVISION PROGRAMS I WATCH: 1. Arrested Development (DVD) 2. Prime Minister's Question Time 3. The Office 4. Daily Show

    FOUR FAVORITE PASTIME ACTIVITIES: 1. Hanging out with my family 2. Traveling 3. Hiking 4. Reading

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE BEEN: 1. Kenya 2. Peru 3. Turkey 4. China

    FOUR PLACES I WANT TO GO: 1. Iceland 2. Greece 3. The Netherlands 4. Cuba

    FOUR FAVORITE THINGS TO EAT: 1. Sushi at Saburo 2. Bi Bim Bop 3. Pulled Pork BBQ Sandwiches 4. Anything on my grill

    FOUR FOODS I DON'T LIKE: 1. Popcorn 2. Chinese food with celery in it 3. Anything from the Pioneer Square food court 4. Kale

    FOUR MUSICIANS / BANDS / GROUPS I LIKE: 1. Wilco 2. Johnny Cash 3. Spoon 4. Quasi

    BONUS QUESTION – THE ONE SONG I HATE MORE THAN ANY OTHER: 1. "We Built This City On Rock and Roll" - Jefferson Starship (Also see: anything by Jim Belushi.)

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    FOUR MOVIES I'VE SEEN MORE THAN ONCE: 1. Star Trek Movies 2. Peter Sellers Pink Panther Movies 3. Bean The Ultimate Disaster Movie 4. Monty Python & The Holy Grail

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE LIVED: 1. Tigard, OR 2. Monmouth, OR 3. Beaverton, OR 4. Molalla, OR

    FOUR TELEVISION PROGRAMS I WATCH: 1. Seinfeld 2. Blackadder 3. Police Squad 4. The Newshour

    FOUR FAVORITE PASTIME ACTIVITIES: 1. Video Games 2. Star Trek CCG 3. Bowling 4. Fishing

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE BEEN: 1. Iowa 2. Washington DC 3. Montana 4. Idaho

    FOUR PLACES I WANT TO GO: 1. New York 2. Tokyo 3. Crater Lake 4. Las Vegas

    FOUR FAVORITE THINGS TO EAT: 1. Unagi 2. Pizza (Pepperoni, Black Olive) 3. caesar salad 4. Fish & Chips

    FOUR FOODS I DON'T LIKE: 1. Tuna Casserole 2. Tuna sandwich 3. Egg salad sandwich 4. Egg salad anything

    FOUR MUSICIANS / BANDS / GROUPS I LIKE: 1. Jackson Browne 2. John Mayer 3. Bruce Springsteen 4. William Shatner

    BONUS QUESTION – THE ONE SONG I HATE MORE THAN ANY OTHER: 1. French National Anthem

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    Carl! How can you hate La Marseillaise?! It's so beautiful!

    The next time you come to my house I will sing it to you.

    Then you'll REALLY hate it.

    %^>

  • Murphy (unverified)
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    FOUR MOVIES I'VE SEEN MORE THAN ONCE:
1. Gosford Park
2. High Fidelity
3. Croupier
4. Miller's Crossing FOUR PLACES I HAVE LIVED:
1. Portland, Oregon
2. Aloha, Oregon
3. Grants Pass, Oregon
4. That's it. FOUR TELEVISION PROGRAMS I WATCH:
1. South Park
2. Daily Show
3. BBC World News
4. McLaughlin Group FOUR FAVORITE PASTIME ACTIVITIES:
1. Reading 
2. Writing
3. Music
4. Baseball (Mariners and Beavers) FOUR PLACES I HAVE BEEN:
1. London 
2. Dublin
3. New York
4. Edmonton, Alberta FOUR PLACES I WANT TO GO:
1. Gettsyburg, Pennsylvania
2. Copenhagen
3. Turkey
4. Italy FOUR FAVORITE THINGS TO EAT:
1. Salmon
2. My wife's Garlic Chicken
3. The Warm Marcona Almond Stuffed Dates Wrapped with Jamon Serrano at South Park
4. Ice Cream FOUR FOODS I DON'T LIKE:
1. Onions
2. Oysters
3. Green Peppers
4. Fast Food FOUR MUSICIANS / BANDS / GROUPS I LIKE:
1. The Bridge Quartet (Portland's Own)
2. Buddy Guy
3. Velvet Underground
4. The Shins BONUS QUESTION – THE ONE SONG I HATE MORE THAN ANY OTHER:
1. ANYTHING by Celine Dion -- but particularly "My Heart Will Go On" (please not on my account).

  • Rich Land (unverified)
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    FOUR MOVIES I'VE SEEN MORE THAN ONCE: 1. It's a Wonderful Life 2. Como Agua Para Chocolate 3. Dirty Dancing 4. The English Patient

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE LIVED: 1.Wallowa OR 2.La Grande OR 3.Salem OR 4.Corvallis OR

    FOUR TELEVISION PROGRAMS I WATCH: 1.The Daily Show 2.The Dog Whisperer 3.The New Yankee Workshop 4.Oregon Field Guide

    FOUR FAVORITE PASTIME ACTIVITIES: 1.Reading 2.Gardening 3.Pottery 4.Woodworking

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE BEEN: 1.New York City 2.Granada Spain 3.Alaska 4.Chicago

    FOUR PLACES I WANT TO GO: 1.Tallahassee 2.Mexico 3.Hawaii 4.Shanghai

    FOUR FAVORITE THINGS TO EAT: 1.Kettle Chips Salt and Black Pepper 2.Ice Cream 3.Willamette Valley Cheese Co. Cumin Gouda 4.Fresh-picked peaches (with cream, no sugar)

    FOUR FOODS I DON'T LIKE: 1.None 2.Nada 3.Zip 4.There aren't any

    FOUR MUSICIANS / BANDS / GROUPS I LIKE: 1.Joshua Bell 2.Fleetwood Mac 3.Johnny Cash 4.Maria Callas

    BONUS QUESTION – THE ONE SONG I HATE MORE THAN ANY OTHER: 1. I think I haven't heard it yet...

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    Without anchovies, it's not Caesar salad.

    While personally I agree, and always load up my homemade dressing with anchovies, technically that's not correct. The original by Caesar Cardini used only Worchestershire sauce (which contains some anchovies), but no actual anchovies. According to his daughter, he was opposed to using actual anchovies, thinking they were too overwhelming for what he wanted to be a subtle salad (I'm sure he would cringe if he knew how much garlic many people put in their abominations these days).

    FOUR MOVIES I'VE SEEN MORE THAN ONCE: 1. Wonder Boys 2. Blade Runner 3. American Beauty 4. Pan's Labyrinth (already watched it four times)

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE LIVED: 1. Forest Grove, OR 2. Claremont, CA 3. London, UK 4. Portland, OR

    FOUR TELEVISION PROGRAMS I WATCH: 1. Dexter 2. The News Hour 3. Doctor Who 4. Torchwood

    FOUR FAVORITE PASTIME ACTIVITIES: 1. Reading 2. Cooking 3. Dancing 4. Bar games (pool, darts, shuffleboard)

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE BEEN: 1. 24 states 2. 9 European countries 3. Belize 4. Guatemala

    FOUR PLACES I WANT TO GO: 1. Greece 2. Australia & New Zealand 3. Japan 4. Back to London

    FOUR FAVORITE THINGS TO EAT: 1. Sushi 2. Cheese 3. Really good pizza 4. Salmon

    FOUR FOODS I DON'T LIKE: 1. Beets 2. Beans (of the non-green variety) 3. Asparagus 4. Blue Cheese

    FOUR MUSICIANS / BANDS / GROUPS I LIKE: 1. Squarepusher 2. LTJ Bukem 3. Hooverphonic 4. Collide

    BONUS QUESTION – THE ONE SONG I HATE MORE THAN ANY OTHER: 1. That Celine Dion song from Titanic that I can't even name for sheer loathing of it. Close second, Santaria by Sublime.

  • Pat Malach (unverified)
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    FOUR MOVIES I'VE SEEN MORE THAN ONCE: 1. Ghandi 2. Dr. Strangelove 3. The Blues Brothers 4. Dear America: Letters Home From Vietnam

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE LIVED: 1. Park Falls, Wisc. 2. Missoula, Mont. 3. Portland 4. Eugene/Springfield

    FOUR TELEVISION PROGRAMS I WATCH: 1. 30 Rock 2. PBS News Hour 3. The Late Show With David Letterman 4. Frontline

    FOUR FAVORITE PASTIME ACTIVITIES: 1. cycling 2. working outside 3. readin' and writin' 4. watching music live

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE BEEN: 1. New York, NY 2. Washington, D.C. 3. Richmond, VA 4. East Missoula

    FOUR PLACES I WANT TO GO: 1. Mann Gulch, Mont. 2. The Giro d'Italia (Italy's Tour de France) 3. New Zealand 4. Czechoslavakia

    FOUR FAVORITE THINGS TO EAT: 1. Meat 2. vegetables 3. dairy 4. grains

    FOUR FOODS I DON'T LIKE: 1. Yukon jack 2. duck 3. veal 4. squash

    FOUR MUSICIANS / BANDS / GROUPS I LIKE: 1. Springsteen 2. Sam Cooke 3. Bob, Damian "Jr. Gong", Ziggy and Stephen Marley 4. Lynyrd Skynyrd

    BONUS QUESTION – THE ONE SONG I HATE MORE THAN ANY OTHER: “Don't worry, be happy”

  • Tom Civiletti (unverified)
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    Did I mention ripe peaches and David Byrne?

    I also favor brussel sprouts, especially with anchovies.

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    FOUR MOVIES I'VE SEEN MORE THAN ONCE: 1.When Harry Met Sally 2.High Fidelity 3.Rear Window 4.Almost Famous

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE LIVED: 1.Bigfork, Montana 2.Portland, Oregon 3.San Francisco, California 4.Washington, DC

    FOUR TELEVISION PROGRAMS I WATCH: 1.GlobeTrekker 2.No Reservations (I have a growing crush on Anthony Bourdain) 3.Project Runway (I know, I know) 4.The Daily Show

    FOUR FAVORITE PASTIME ACTIVITIES: 1.Playing with my kids 2. Trying to work out 3.Gardening 4.Hanging out with my husband

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE BEEN: 1.El Salvador 2.England, France, Italy 3.Victoria/Vancouver, Canada 4.Dublin, Ireland

    FOUR PLACES I WANT TO GO: 1.Back to Ireland 2.Rome 3.Hawaii 4.Playa de Tortuga, Mexico (you get to save baby turtles AND laze by the beach)

    FOUR FAVORITE THINGS TO EAT: 1.Chocolate 2.Guinness (I know it says "eat" but remember, Guinness is a meal in a pint glass) 3.Cornmeal blueberry muffins from Black Sheep bakery 4.Fish tacos

    FOUR FOODS I DON'T LIKE: 1. Those chewy mushrooms in Chinese food 2. Tempeh 3.Quiche 4.Oysters

    FOUR MUSICIANS / BANDS / GROUPS I LIKE: 1.U2 2.Wilco 3.REM 4.Cowboy Junkies

    BONUS QUESTION – THE ONE SONG I HATE MORE THAN ANY OTHER: 1. Tie -- Achy Breaky Heart and I Will Always Love You (the Whitney Houston version, not Dolly Parton's)

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    Oh, and another movie -- All the President's Men, and for bands, the Pixies. OK, I'll stop now...

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    FOUR MOVIES I'VE SEEN MORE THAN ONCE: 1. The Big Lebowski 2. Fargo 3. Gattaca 4. The Life Aquatic

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE LIVED: 1. Monrovia, CA 2. Eagan, MN 3. Christchurch, New Zealand 4. Portland, OR

    FOUR TELEVISION PROGRAMS I WATCH: 1. 24 2. The Office 3. Lost 4. Heroes

    FOUR FAVORITE PASTIME ACTIVITIES: 1. Watching college football 2. Baking 3. Driving 4. Playing basketball

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE BEEN: 1. New Zealand 2. France 3. Great Britain 4. Switzerland

    FOUR PLACES I WANT TO GO: 1. Nepal 2. Chile 3. Antarctica 4. Argentina

    FOUR FAVORITE THINGS TO EAT: 1. Cheesecake 2. Cheese 3. Cinnamon Rolls 4. Pizza

    FOUR FOODS I DON'T LIKE: 1. Meat 2. Mushrooms 3. Tomatoes 4. Cherries

    FOUR MUSICIANS / BANDS / GROUPS I LIKE: 1. Pink Floyd 2. U2 3. Tom Petty 4. The Rolling Stones

    BONUS QUESTION – THE ONE SONG I HATE MORE THAN ANY OTHER: 1. Quite a few

  • Miles (unverified)
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    FOUR MOVIES I'VE SEEN MORE THAN ONCE: 1. Six Degress of Separation 2. Bob Roberts 3. Lord of the Rings (all three) 4. Star Wars (all six)

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE LIVED: 1. NYC 2. Brussels 3. Paris 4. Washington, DC

    FOUR TELEVISION PROGRAMS I WATCH: 1. Battlestar Gallactica 2. Top Chef 3. Iron Chef America 4. Friday Night Lights (let the mocking begin)

    FOUR FAVORITE PASTIME ACTIVITIES: 1. Cooking 2. Eating 3. Reading to my kids 4. Baseball

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE BEEN: 1. New Zealand 2. Budapest 3. El Paso 4. New Jersey

    FOUR PLACES I WANT TO GO: 1. New Zealand (again) 2. Thailand 3. Spain 4. Ireland

    FOUR FAVORITE THINGS TO EAT: 1. Steak -- just this side of rare 2. Grilled garden veggies on grilled bread (summer) 3. Risotto (winter) 4. Sugar in all its applications

    FOUR FOODS I DON'T LIKE: 1. Fishy fish 2. Mushy rice 3. Goaty goat cheese 4. Animal Organs

    FOUR MUSICIANS / BANDS / GROUPS I LIKE: 1. Ani DiFranco 2. Levellers 3. Miles Davis 4. Erin McKeown

    BONUS QUESTION – THE ONE SONG I HATE MORE THAN ANY OTHER: 1. Bridge Over Troubled Waters

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    How long and how long ago did you live in Brussels, Miles? I have only been there a couple of times, on business, but I love it as a place to visit.

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    It's so wonderful to see so many others recognize the musical brilliance that is William Shatner at BO.

  • Miles (unverified)
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    I lived in Brussels for six months in fall/winter of 1993. Study abroad program. It's a nice city, although there are others in Europe that I like more. But the beer. . . and the moules et frites. . . and the chocolate. . . all worth a trip.

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    This is fun for my Saturday! FOUR MOVIES I'VE SEEN MORE THAN ONCE: 1.Lord of the Rings 2.The Wiz 3.Brown Sugar 4.The Lion King

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE LIVED: 1.Panama 2.Albuquerque 3.Santa Fe 4.Portland

    FOUR TELEVISION PROGRAMS I WATCH: 1.Girlfriends 2.The McLauglin Group 3.Ugly Betty 4.The Biggest Loser

    FOUR FAVORITE PASTIME ACTIVITIES: 1.Working out 2.Socializing 3.Gardening 4.Food, all things food

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE BEEN: 1.MOMA 2.The Budweiser factory 3.Tillamook Cheese factory 4.The Chicago Institute of Art

    FOUR PLACES I WANT TO GO: 1.Barcelona 2.Barbados 3.Montreal 4.Helsinki

    FOUR FAVORITE THINGS TO EAT: 1.apples 2.bran buds 3.sandwiches 4.bacon

    FOUR FOODS I DON'T LIKE: 1.couscous 2.tofu 3.mushrooms, sometimes 4.green olives

    FOUR MUSICIANS / BANDS / GROUPS I LIKE: 1.Stevie Wonder 2.Jill Scott 3.Michael Jackson 4.The Fugees

    BONUS QUESTION – THE ONE SONG I HATE MORE THAN ANY OTHER: 1.that pina colada song. ICK.

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    FOUR MOVIES I'VE SEEN MORE THAN ONCE: 1. Swing Kids 2. Evita 3. Any Michael Keaton or Christian Bale Batman movie 4. A Knight's Tale

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE LIVED: 1. Pasadena, TX 2. Houston 3. Santa Fe, TX 4. Gresham

    FOUR TELEVISION PROGRAMS I WATCH: 1. Grey's Anatomy 2. CSI 3. Brothers & Sisters 4. Monk

    FOUR FAVORITE PASTIME ACTIVITIES: 1. writing 2. reading 3. traveling 4. scrapbooking

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE BEEN: 1. Vancouver, BC 2. South Padre Island 3. Boston 4. San Antonio

    FOUR PLACES I WANT TO GO: 1. Washington, DC 2. Scotland 3. Vietnam 4. England

    FOUR FAVORITE THINGS TO EAT: 1. shrimp 2. sunflower seeds 3. Vietnamese food 4. curry

    FOUR FOODS I DON'T LIKE: 1. liver 2. most seafood (other than shrimp, fish, prawns) 3. anything with an odd texture (like tofu) 4. anything with raw meat in it

    FOUR MUSICIANS / BANDS / GROUPS I LIKE: 1. Matchbox Twenty 2. Nickelback 3. Barenaked Ladies 4. Jordan Knight

    BONUS QUESTION – THE ONE SONG I HATE MORE THAN ANY OTHER: 1. can't think of one off the top of my head, but it's likely a rap song

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    Wayne:

    Oooh, Immortal Beloved is another good one.

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    As if to demonstrate in yet one more way the conventional wisdom which says that we are often irritated by people who are actually a lot like us... Reading through the list from Stephanie's original post to the bottom of the comments here, I notice three whom I very much identify with in several key respects - Stephanie, Carl Fisher and Miles. All three are on the opposite side of the current, contentious Senate race. But I see a significant overlap between my likes (many of which were not on my list) and theirs. But in particular...

    Stephanie: Musical tastes and foods - ditto on all of them. Seriously. It borders on "two peas in a pod" territory.

    Carl: Movies and TV programs. Particularly the comedy. I LOVE all of the Pink Panther movies and am a big fan of Monty Python and all of the iterations done by cast members since. Black Adder is a riot. Although I liked Mr. Bean the series even more!

    Miles: Clearly we're both foodies and love to cook/watch cooking shows. I don't suppose he also collects cookbooks like I do...? Those who normally buy me Christmas gifts all know that if all else fails they can't miss with a gift of another cookbook, especially if it's quirky or unusual in some respect.

    That said... if I could go back and change one thing on mine it would be to take away something on my fav foods and put "Curry" in it's place because I LOVE curries of all sorts.

  • Katy (unverified)
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    Here we go again on BlueOregon...this thread just sickens me.

    Only the collectivists at Blue Oregon would limit their readers to four favorites instead of, say, five.

    I'm tired of people using this blog to promote their own political mu$ings. Come on Kristen, "Globetrekker"? Don't you think you should disclose that consulting contract? And what about those Wikipedia alterations?

    And I see we're letting Nick Wirth blatantly make fun of me with his first favorite movie. It's not subtle Nick, and it's not cool.

    Kari, I demand that you check the IP addresses of "$tephanie" and "Mile$." They've both been to Bru$$els? I find that very, very interesting.

    What's next, is Charlie going to call me racist if I pick a certain movie? Will I get hounded if I pick Left Hook Lager as one of my favorite foods? Is Civiletti going to start talking about sex? (Oh...wait...)

    AND STOP BUMPING THREADS!

  • John Mulvey (unverified)
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    Katy,

    I'm appointing myself ombudsman of your previous comment, and I don't like what I see at all.

    John

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    (breathlessly)

    why, Kevin ... (batting eyelashes) ... I am so FLATTERED to be one of the people you find most irritating!

    (smooooooch)

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    FOUR MOVIES I'VE SEEN MORE THAN ONCE: 1. Galaxy Quest 2. Pride and Predjudice 3. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home 4. Desert Hearts

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE LIVED: 1. McMinnville/Albany/Canby/Portland OR 2. Goshen IN 3. Kassell, Bundesrepublic Deutschland 4. Bozeman MT

    FOUR TELEVISION PROGRAMS I WATCH: 1. Lost 2. The Closer 3. The Daily Show 4. (this space reserved in memory of Veronica Mars)

    FOUR FAVORITE PASTIME ACTIVITIES: 1. reading 2. following Joey Harrington's career 3. hanging out with my family 4. Peggle

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE BEEN: 1. Yellowstone National Park 2. Hong Kong 3. Maui 4. Victoria BC

    FOUR PLACES I WANT TO GO: 1. Thailand 2. The Big Island 3. London 4. Alaska

    FOUR FAVORITE THINGS TO EAT: 1. Kao Pad Ga Prau (medium) 2. BLT (with half inch thick slices of community-garden-grown "Legend" tomatoes) 3. tsunomono 4. blintzes

    FOUR FOODS I DON'T LIKE: 1. liver 2. liver 3. liver 4. frozen peas

    FOUR MUSICIANS / BANDS / GROUPS I LIKE: 1. The Beatles 2. k.d. lang 3. Tom Lehrer 4. Jonathan Coulton

    BONUS QUESTION – THE ONE SONG I HATE MORE THAN ANY OTHER: 1. "Mandy" or anything else sung by Barry Manilow

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    Yea, had I been able to have more than 4 movies, the others that would be on my list would be anything Star Trek, anything Disney, anything Freddy Kreuger, Star Wars series, Young Frankenstein, and Monty Python and the Search for the Holy Grail.

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    Yeah, my reaction after I posted was "I can't believe I didn't get "Princess Bride" on the movie list, potatoes on the food list and "Empire Builder series train games" and "Settlers of Cataan" on the pastime activities list. Four is just not nearly enough. I also can't believe I got an extra 'd' in prejudice.

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    So far my favorite part of this game is the songs people hate. They are all so totally deserving, each in their own way! I wish that those who fudged that question had chosen one -- I would have enjoyed reading the choices.

    And yes, Kevin, I hate pretty much all country music too.

    %^>

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    FOUR MOVIES I'VE SEEN MORE THAN ONCE: 1. Star Wars 2. Clueless 3. Pride and Prejudice 4. Ferris Beuller's Day Off

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE LIVED: 1. Mexico City 2. Los Angeles 3. Seattle 4. Portland!

    FOUR TELEVISION PROGRAMS I WATCH: 1. The McLaughlin Group 2. Ghosthunters 3. Men in Trees 4. La Fea Mas Bella

    FOUR FAVORITE PASTIME ACTIVITIES: 1. Snuggling with my fam. 2. Trolling the internets for political news 3. Plotting 4. Running

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE BEEN: 1. Santa Fe, NM 2. Paris, France 3. Guadalajara, Mexico 4. Gloucester, Mass.

    FOUR PLACES I WANT TO GO: 1. Montana 2. Spain 3. Backward in time 4. Forward in time

    FOUR FAVORITE THINGS TO EAT: 1. Trader Joe's buried treasure 2. Fresh mozzarella and tomato 3. Mexican food from Mexico (or my mom's kitchen) 4. Ice cream.

    FOUR FOODS I DON'T LIKE: 1. Shellfish 2. Fish 3. Seafood not covered by the labels "shellfish" or "Fish" 4. chewy animal parts

    FOUR MUSICIANS / BANDS / GROUPS I LIKE: 1. Radiohead 2. The National 3. Feist 4. Chopin

    BONUS QUESTION – THE ONE SONG I HATE MORE THAN ANY OTHER: 1. "You're Beautiful" James Blech. I mean Blunt.

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    OK Stephanie V,

    Mandy.

    I'm annoyed with myself just thinking about it. The damned thing is in my head now, and it will be hours getting it out.

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    Oh, Wayne, what a FINE choice! Thank you for sharing that with us.

    Obviously you are a man of discernment.

    Sorry about the earworm. Try thinking about "La Marseillaise" for awhile instead. I still don't understand why Carl would hate that.

  • J (unverified)
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    Katy,

    Thanks for the laugh.

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    cookbooks

    Is this the point where I mention oh-so-casually that I own a first edition of Bobby Seale's cookbook BARBEQUE'N WITH BOBBY?

    (I bought it at The Black Cat, a left-wing boutique in Philadelphia which is attached to a very good and equally left-wing restaurant called The White Dog. The owner of the restaurant/boutique used to date either Ben or Jerry, I forget which.)

  • Gil Johnson (unverified)
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    FOUR MOVIES I'VE SEEN MORE THAN ONCE: 1. Casablanca (I think I know all the lines by now) 2. The Three Musketeers (Richard Lester version) 3. His Girl Friday 4. Love and Anarchy

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE LIVED: 1. Portland 2. Venice, CA 3. Volyne, Czech Republic 4. Yuba City, CA

    FOUR TELEVISION PROGRAMS I WATCH: 1. Any NBA game 2. Author interviews on CSPAN 3.
    4.

    FOUR FAVORITE PASTIME ACTIVITIES: 1. Bicycling 2. Reading political blogs 3. Writing political rants 4. Reading paper newspapers and magazines

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE BEEN: 1. Frenchglen/Steens Mtns. 2. Sou'wester Lodge, Seaview, WA 3. New York 4. Amsterdam

    FOUR PLACES I WANT TO GO: 1. Slovenia 2. Amsterdam again 3. North Korea 4. New Zealand

    FOUR FAVORITE THINGS TO EAT: 1. Rare Oregon Country Beef NY strip sirloin 2. Raw Willipa Bay oysters 3. Fresh raspberries!! 4. Rittersport dark chocolate w/ hazelnuts

    FOUR FOODS I DON'T LIKE: 1. Alfalfa sprouts 2. Zucchini in most forms 3. Terriyaki 4. Plain white rice

    FOUR MUSICIANS / BANDS / GROUPS I LIKE: 1. Glenn Miller 2. Duke Ellington 3. Country Joe McDonald 4. Pink Martini

    BONUS QUESTION – THE ONE SONG I HATE MORE THAN ANY OTHER: 1. Don't know a title, but the repetitive 80s house music that my downstairs neighbor plays constantly is driving me crazy.

  • Gil Johnson (unverified)
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    I tried to play by the rules and color within the lines, but it did seem odd that there were only four choices for some things--such as favorite foods and places I want to go. (As well as places I've been). Somebody else mentioned dry-rubbed ribs and I smacked my forehead because that indeed is one of my favorites.

    Now what are we going to do with this information? I counted six people who want to go to New Zealand (and two who have been there). So let's organize a group tour (I have friends there, just never been able to get there). Actually, when the weather is like this, any place tropical would be fine.

    By the way, years ago Ron Eachus gave me a recipe for liver and onions that is simply delicious--no, really. Of course, it requires a lot of bacon and a bottle of dark beer or stout.

  • LT (unverified)
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    Gil, if you have lived in Yuba City then you lived not far from where I went to college---Chico State.

    And a friend of mine lived in Dunnigan, another in Richvale, another in Corning, recently I met someone who seemed surprised I knew where Orland was.

  • PeteJacobsen (unverified)
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    FOUR MOVIES I'VE SEEN MORE THAN ONCE: 1. An Inconvenient Truth 2. Star Wars 3. Sicko 4. Bambi (can't help it - I'm old)

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE LIVED: 1. Temple, Texas 2. West Palm Beach, Florida 3. Decatur, Illinois (home of faulty Firestone tires) 4. Santa Cruz, California

    FOUR TELEVISION PROGRAMS I WATCH: 1. I turned off my TV eight years ago. 2. Bill Moyers (if I watched TV) 3. New Yankee Workshop (if I watched TV) 4. Tennis (if I watched TV)

    FOUR FAVORITE PASTIME ACTIVITIES: 1. Fixing Bicycles 2. Woodworking 3. Surfin' the net 4. Family Pub Night

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE BEEN: 1. Tokyo 2. Oaxaca 3. Budapest 4. 49 of the 50 states

    FOUR PLACES I WANT TO GO: 1. Big Bend National Park, Texas 2. Denali National Park, Alaska 3. The Maritime Provinces, Canada 4. Anyplace in Rhode Island (the only state I've missed)

    FOUR FAVORITE THINGS TO EAT: 1. Mexican Food (definitely including Margaritas!) 2. Dessert (especially with chocolate) 3. Bacon, eggs, and hashbrowns 4. Liver and Onions (sorry, Stephanie!)

    FOUR FOODS I DON'T LIKE: 1. Fish 2. Brussel Sprouts 3. Lima Beans 4. Asparagus

    FOUR MUSICIANS / BANDS / GROUPS I LIKE: 1. Most Classical music 2. Most Bluegrass music 3. Most Space music 4. Creedence Clearwater Revival

    BONUS QUESTION – THE ONE SONG I HATE MORE THAN ANY OTHER: 1. Hawaiian guitar music

  • Bridget (unverified)
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    FOUR MOVIES I'VE SEEN MORE THAN ONCE: 1. Amelie, 2. Field of Dreams 3.The Fifth Element 4.Beauty and the Beast (not by choice)

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE LIVED:
 1. Little Falls, MN
    2.Lincoln, NE
    3. Portland, OR
    4. Aurora, OR

    FOUR TELEVISION PROGRAMS I WATCH:
 1. The Reaper
    2. My Name is Earl
    3. South Park
    4. Ghost Whisperer
    Yeah, I like the television equivalents of marshmallow peeps

    FOUR FAVORITE PASTIME ACTIVITIES:
 1. Reading 2.Bowling 3.Horses 4.Sailing

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE BEEN:
 1.London
    2.Zurich
    3.Cologne
    4.Marigot Bay

    FOUR PLACES I WANT TO GO:
 1. The Maldives
    2. The Seychelles
    3.Madagascar
    4. Rio

    FOUR FAVORITE THINGS TO EAT:
 1. Enchiladas 2. Molé
    3. Ceviche
    4.Cheese

    FOUR FOODS I DON'T LIKE:
 1. Beets
    2.Lima Beans
    3.Canned Tuna 4. Sea Urchin

    FOUR MUSICIANS / BANDS / GROUPS I LIKE:
    1. EmmyLou Harris
    2. Velvet Underground 3. Dar Williams
    4. Prince

    BONUS QUESTION – THE ONE SONG I HATE MORE THAN ANY OTHER:
”Skin” by Rascal Flatts

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    Rhode Island's not very big, Pete! How did you manage to miss it?! %^>

    My husband and I just got back from Australia and although we had perfectly good reasons for not going to New Zealand on that trip, we are very eager to go there too. So Gil's tour group just got bigger!

    But I think our next big trip together might be Malaysia. Mike lived in Kuala Lumpur for six months when he was 11, and hasn't been back, and we are both dying to go. I was thinking maybe we could take the Orient Express (or whatever that route's name is now) train from Singapore/KL to Bangkok. I picked up a recent issue of Orient Express magazine and it's giving me dangerous ideas.

    (Incidentally, anyone going to Australia MUST read Bill Bryson's book In a Sunburned Country. Hell, anyone NOT going to Australia should read it too. It's wonderful, like all his books.

    Maybe we should do books next Saturday!

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    oops, I didn't close the italics.

  • Bridget (unverified)
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    Brussel Sprouts Rule!

    Back in the day, the only ones that traveled well were a variety that tasted very bitter. Most people hate them, as they were forced to eat the nasty buggers in childhood.

    The Brussel Sprouts of today are quite different, and are best braised with a little garlic. Even my finicky kid eats them (the other kid eats anything, including chicken feet, so that's not saying much).

  • Gil Johnson (unverified)
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    I'll go to Malaysia, too! I have a friend from there who knows everything about the place. My one regret in travel is that my only visit to Asia was to Hong Kong 10 years ago and I found it not so inspiring (though it might have been had I gotten to know the locals better).

    LT--Yup, I would go up to Chico on occasion to get some semblance of culture. Yuba Duba (and Marysville) was a pretty strange place, but great for a young guy to get his start in the newspaper business as there was a new grisly murder almost every week. The town is most famous for a fellow named Juan Corona, a mule who murdered 34 migrant workers and buried them in shallow graves.

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    FOUR MOVIES I'VE SEEN MORE THAN ONCE: 1. Every single Hayao Miyazaki film; some in their original Japanese 2. Blade Runner 3. Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios, on the first date I ever had with my wife. 4. Barney's Great Adventure (the Barney the dinosaur movie), Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE LIVED: 1. Toddler's blur of Santa Clara, Torrence CA, & Boston 2. Berzerkley California 3. San Jose, "The heart of Silicon Valley" 4. Aloha, Oregon

    FOUR TELEVISION PROGRAMS I WATCH: 1. The Daily Show and Colbert Report, though I skip past boring guests 2. Cartoon Network Adult Swim, sometimes 3. Avatar, Naruto, Spongebob 4. [this space intentionally left blank. seriously, I get behind on my DVR and have to do mass deletes]

    FOUR FAVORITE PASTIME ACTIVITIES: 1. Reading news and information from national and international newspaper websites, and blogs; wasting time writing posts like this one. 2. Mastering odd skills, like cooking. 3. Composing and playing simple piano music (the damned stuff comes out sounding like Windham Hill) 4. Reading stories to, now being a "Dungeon Master" for, my 10 year old son.

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE BEEN: 1. Hawaii/Japan/Taipei/India/Iran/Netherlands/Germany & England in 1970. 2. Mexico, D.F. 3. Carcassonne, France. Sienna, during the palio. 4. The White House, Congress.

    FOUR PLACES I WANT TO GO: 1. Heaven, if it actually exists. 2. Space, but hey - that's even less likely than heaven. 3. Wherever my wife wants to go next. 4. Anywhere my imagination takes me.

    FOUR FAVORITE THINGS TO EAT: 1. Home cooking. I'm pretty good at making things taste good. A 10 year subscription to Bon Appétit doesn't hurt either. 2. Really innovative fusion cuisine, like this (from D.K.'s Suchi Chronicles, recipes from Sansei Seafood and Sushi Bar): "Scallop and Foie Gras Niriri, Carmelized Granny Smith Apples, and Unagi Sauce". 3. My family's favorites of what I make: Homemade jam from Oregon berries, Kaluha Custard and Mixed Organic Apple/Quince pie, hand risen pizza with Spanish chorizo, fresh cut pinapple, and my special homemade red sauce. 4. What's in season. That's 90% of flavor.

    FOUR FOODS I DON'T LIKE: 1. Fast food. 2. A lot of really boring restaurant food. 3. There's not much I just refuse to eat, as my BMI reminds me. 4.

    FOUR MUSICIANS / BANDS / GROUPS I LIKE: 1. YES, from my teen years of Prog Rock fandom. 2. Imogen Heap, Sneaker Pimps, and other electronica experimentalists 3. , Spinal Tap 4. Mecano

    BONUS QUESTION – THE ONE SONG I HATE MORE THAN ANY OTHER: 1. The Star "Mangled" Banner, as mangled by either: celebrity non-singers, or musicians trying to pack so much alien ornamentation into it, you can't even follow the melody anymore.

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    Again, the HTML seems to be dying for me. That #3 above was Weird Al. I doublechecked it, but my browser seems to be doing strange things when I actually post.

  • Katherine (unverified)
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    I am so glad I'm not alone in the Lima Beans department. Yucky! Nasty tasting. My mom used to serve them on occasion.

    As a kid, I'd chew them and then spit them into my milk. Same with peas. Mom made great moose liver though. Lots of braised onions, ketchup and a ton of bacon. We always had a moose in the freezer. Or a caribou.

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    This is just an experiment - trying without preview:

    1. Weird Al Yankovic, Spinal Tap.
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    Thanks for posting that link!

    Weird Al puts on a great live show. We went to see him at the Roseland a few years ago. I lost count of the costume changes. It was just tremendous. We figure we raised the average age at least ten years in that theater that night.

  • Miles (unverified)
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    I don't suppose he also collects cookbooks like I do...?

    Absolutely. My current quest is to find either vintage cookbooks or the cookbooks that three-star Michelin chefs wouldn't do without.

    As for New Zealand, count me in for the group trip. My earlier trip there changed my outlook on life.

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    Is this the point where I mention oh-so-casually that I own a first edition of Bobby Seale's cookbook BARBEQUE'N WITH BOBBY?

    GRRRRR ;-)

    Very nice. First edition too... I'm not ashamed to say that I'm green with envy. LOL

    Oh, and you know what I meant about irritating. This cyber thing is such a... handicapped form of communication. It's much easier to be mean or play hardball when you don't have to see the look of pain in another person's eyes when you've hurt them. Y'know? It's something that I've been congizant of for a number of years but it still doesn't always occur to me to think of that when writing something, particularly off-the-cuff comments.

    What I was lamely striving to get at with that comment is that I strongly suspect that a number of us who play the role of political enemies online might actually hit it off very well in person.

    Liz Kimmerly is a great example of that. I mentioned my love for curry upthread. I may have understated it slightly... or a LOT as the case actually is. I'm fanatical about curry. Seriously. It's a genuine passion. I've yet to meet a curry which, in my estimation, isn't head and shoulders above any other form of food ever invented by mankind.

    Anyway, I was poking around some while back trying to see what I could find out about Liz - something that I've always had a knack for - and I ran across something she'd written talking about how much she loves curries. Before reading that it was pretty easy to think the worst about her. What with the PDA thing and all. But then I read that and... I'm serious when I said that I may have understated my zeal for curry - LOL. When I read that Liz loves curries I realized instantly that she couldn't possible be as bad as I'd made her up to be in my mind. After all... she loves curry! That makes her one of the sanest people on the planet..., by definition!

    Someday I would love to sit down over coffee with Liz and talk curries. I would enjoy that very much.

    I guess what I'm saying is that I personally believe that these kinds of posts where folks can see common ground where none may have been apparent before... are definitely a service to the community. It helps us all to humanize each other and that's very healthy, IMHO.

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    I've also noted the heavy interest in New Zealand, and I can't recommend it enough. I spent half of last year studying abroad on the country's South Island, and I had a lot of time to get around the island. Words can't describe how absolutely beautiful and breathtaking the country is, and New Zealanders are a very friendly bunch. If you're thinking about going, DO IT.

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    Also, a favorite food that I forgot to mention when I originally posted that would probably displace pizza is Indian food (especially from the stand on 12th and yamhill).

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    I love Indian food too, and for those of you thinking about going to (or going back to) Amsterdam sometime, be sure and have a meal at Maurya (located just a block or so off the Leidseplein). I've never been to India but I have been to some very good Indian restaurants in Europe and Asia, and Maurya is as good as any of them.

    A few years ago I was in Amsterdam for about three weeks on business, and despite my best efforts to eat in a different place every night, Maurya was a place I had to go back to.

  • Larry McD (unverified)
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    Sorry, folks. Yesterday was not a net day for me so I'm spending the time this AM not spent in my customary 15 minutes on the Sunday Oregonian catching up.

    Hope I'm not too late for the party....

    FOUR MOVIES I'VE SEEN MORE THAN ONCE: 1. Some Like It Hot 2. Out of the Past 3. The Duelists 4. Bring Up Baby

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE LIVED: 1. Sonoma County CA 2. Washington DC 3. Southern Illinois 4. Udorn Thani Thailand

    FOUR TELEVISION PROGRAMS I WATCH: 1. The Wire 2. Jericho 3. Dexter 4. Battlestar Galactica

    FOUR FAVORITE PASTIME ACTIVITIES: 1. Reading & writing 2. Entertaining friends 3. Plants- indoor and out 4. Rambling around the net

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE BEEN: 1. Maui 2. Vaucluse, France 3. Rome 4. Manhattan

    FOUR PLACES I WANT TO GO: 1. Bali 2. Barcelona 3. Ireland 4. Sea of Cortez

    FOUR FAVORITE THINGS TO EAT: 1. Babyback Ribs, dryrubbed 2. Monkfish, grilled w/lemon 3. Duck in prunes 4. Gelato in any context

    FOUR FOODS I DON'T LIKE: 1. Organ meats 2. Tofu 3. Kimchee 4. Chilies and foods that contain them

    FOUR MUSICIANS / BANDS / GROUPS I LIKE: 1. Compositions of Ennio Morricone, esp. Yo Yo’s recordings 2. Matt Bogart 3. Diana Krall 4. Crosby, Stills, & Nash (WITHOUT Young)

    BONUS QUESTION – THE ONE SONG I HATE MORE THAN ANY OTHER: 1. Anything by ABBA, but particularly Dancing Queen

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    I've been out of Portland too long....any of you other curry-lovers know when India Day is this year? I went back in '06 and had a blast (and ate everything in sight).

    And Kevin and Charlie, I suppose we should start planning that trip to Greece....

  • Rose Wilde (unverified)
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    FOUR MOVIES I'VE SEEN MORE THAN ONCE: 1. Star Wars (episodes IV-VI, please) 2. Coen Bros movies in general 3. Pecker (ooooh so good) 4. (slightly embarrassed) the Mummy

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE LIVED: 1. Horton, OR 2. Baltimore & Bethesda, MD 3. Houston, TX 4. Eugene, OR

    FOUR TELEVISION PROGRAMS I WATCH: 1. Lil' Bush 2. Lewis Black specials 3. Simpsons 4. Stewart & Colbert of course

    FOUR FAVORITE PASTIME ACTIVITIES: 1. singing folk songs 2. nature walks 3. eating out 4. eating in

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE BEEN: 1. Prague, CZ 2. Captain Cook, HI 3. Tuscany 4. Salzburg

    FOUR PLACES I WANT TO GO: 1. scuba anywhere warm 2. Greece 3. Chile 4. Uzbekistan (ancient settlements -- I once wanted to be an archaeologist)

    FOUR FAVORITE THINGS TO EAT: 1. blue crab (down with dungeness) 2. lamb (for some reason baby sheep are ok, but not baby cows, hmmm.) 3. home grown tomatoes 4. mexican with lots of different chili peppers & salsas

    FOUR FOODS I DON'T LIKE: 1. veal 2. foie gras 3. anything tortured before slaughter in general 4. factory farmed produce (uggg)

    FOUR MUSICIANS / BANDS / GROUPS I LIKE: 1. Adam and Kris! 2. Steve Malkmus 3. Dar Williams 4. Shawn Colvin (anyone see Dar and Shawn's show at the Britt?)

    BONUS QUESTION – THE ONE SONG I HATE MORE THAN ANY OTHER: 1. what's that creepy country patriotic song? Something like "would you trade your life for freedom?" -- gives me the shivers every time

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    1. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home....

    One of my favorite exchanges from that movie:

    Spock: Your use of language has altered since our arrival. It is currently laced with, shall we say, more colorful metaphors, "double dumb-ass on you" and so forth. Kirk: Oh, you mean the profanity? Spock: Yes. Kirk: Well that's simply the way they talk here. Nobody pays any attention to you unless you swear every other word.

    I must say that for the most part is true. I started swearing in high school during a class and the whole room fell silent and I had their attention.

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    Rose Wilde! Another Pecker-head! Who knew?!

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    Absolutely. My current quest is to find either vintage cookbooks or the cookbooks that three-star Michelin chefs wouldn't do without.

    Nice! I have more of the later than the former but, it was a happenstance purchase of a vintage cookbook at a garage sale which launched my collecting zeal. It was produced and published by the Women's Council of the Overland Park (Kansas) Presbyterian Church in 1948. Unfortunately, in hindsight, it's only a 3rd edition, but it is easily my most treasured cookbook.

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    And Kevin and Charlie, I suppose we should start planning that trip to Greece....

    I'll second that. Although it looks like we'd need to make room for Stephanie, Carla and Rose as well. I too once wanted to be an archaeologist, so Rose will be a must on the trip, s'il vous plait. And I toyed with putting Lebanon instead of Giza, Egypt so I'd definitely want to continue on that leg too.

    You know what would be fun? A complete clockwise circuit of the Mediterranean nations starting in Slovenia and ending in Italy.

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    You guys need to join the Friends of the Multnomah County Library and start coming to the twice annual used book sales. There is always a HUGE table of cookbooks at the fall sale and I have seen some amazing stuff there. Members get first crack at everything before the general public is admitted.

    The next sale is in late April. I can find out whether cookbooks will be in the April sale or not. The website says the sale is in June but that's incorrect.

    Also, the FOL store at Central Library has cookbooks year round (and members get a discount).

    [This has been a public service announcement]

    We'll have to talk about the Barcelona tour group too. I think we have critical mass for that as well.

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    You know what would be fun? A complete clockwise circuit of the Mediterranean nations starting in Slovenia and ending in Italy.

    Oh. Yes.

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    FOUR MOVIES I'VE SEEN MORE THAN ONCE: 1. Motorcycle Diaries 2. Shrek 1, 2, 3 3. Wizard of Oz 4. What's Eating Gilbert Grape

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE LIVED: 1. Skowhegan, Maine 2. Tucson, Arizona 3. El Remate, Peten, Guatemala 4. Seattle, Washington

    FOUR TELEVISION PROGRAMS I WATCH: 1. The Office

    FOUR FAVORITE PASTIME ACTIVITIES: 1. Reading 2. Hiking 3. Playing with my daughter 4. Finding good Thai restaurants

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE BEEN: 1. The top of the volcano Paracutin, and came down the wrong side by mistake 2. The middle of the lilac bush at the house my great-grandmother built in the 1930's 3. Every lawn sale in Portland, but those days are over 4. A lot of beaches

    FOUR PLACES I WANT TO GO: 1. Peru 2. Cuba 3. Maine, to see my family 4. Michoacan, my favorite state in Mexico

    FOUR FAVORITE THINGS TO EAT: 1. Thai food 2. Grapes 3. Salt and vinegar chips 4. Chocolate

    FOUR FOODS I DON'T LIKE: 1. Green peppers 2. Pork chops 3. Balogna 4. Fried fish

    FOUR MUSICIANS / BANDS / GROUPS I LIKE: 1. Ryan Adams 2. Cat Power 3. The Everybodyfields 4. Julieta Venegas

    BONUS QUESTION – THE ONE SONG I HATE MORE THAN ANY OTHER: 1. Anything by the Eagles

  • Gil Johnson (unverified)
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    You know what would be fun? A complete clockwise circuit of the Mediterranean nations starting in Slovenia and ending in Italy.

    I'm in for that. I really want to go to Slovenia. And the only time I was in Italy, I drove through it from the Swiss border straight through to the French Riviera, stopping only for gas. This may have been the stupidest thing I've done in my life, and I've been through two marriages.

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    LOL - now you're starting to scare me, Gil. You just told a significant portion of my life story there, including the collection of ex-wives. But when I was there my dad was driving and we spent a bit more time in Italy, but not a whole lot more. Very long stretches of it were spent driving and stopping only for gas. There are several cities in that part of the world which I can technically say that I've been to, but the reality is that I only saw them as we were passing through enroute to some other place. C'est la vie.

    Slovenia would be great. I've seen pictures of some truly incredibly places, both man-made and nature-made over there which I would very much love to experience in person. Ditto for the other former Serbian provinces as you go down the coast towards Albania.

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    Could this be creating one of those celebrity cruises? You know where folks pay some money to hobnob with celebrities from a certain wing of the entertainment industry (star trek does them from time to time)

    We could have a Blue Oregon Cruise. I'm sure we could book Charlie Burr. He's a very approachable celeb....

  • trishka (unverified)
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    FOUR MOVIES I'VE SEEN MORE THAN ONCE: 1. Crouching Tiger/Hidden Dragon 2. Bladerunner 3. Gosford Park 4. Rocky Horror Picture Show

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE LIVED: 1. Missoula MT 2. NY NY 3. Hailey ID 4. Corvallis OR

    FOUR TELEVISION PROGRAMS I WATCH: 1. The Wire (on DVD) 2. Battlestar Galactica (on DVD) 3. Friday Night Lights (on DVD) 4. Weeds (on DVD)

    FOUR FAVORITE PASTIME ACTIVITIES: 1. Yoga 2. Horse riding 3. Skiing/Hiking 4. Reading

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE BEEN: 1. Barcelona 2. Australia 3. Montreal 4. Edinburgh

    FOUR PLACES I WANT TO GO: 1. Mongolia 2. Iceland 3. Grand Canyon 4. Machu Pichu

    FOUR FAVORITE THINGS TO EAT: 1. Pasta 2. Seafood 3. Cheese 4. Garlic

    FOUR FOODS I DON'T LIKE: 1. Raw tomatoes 2. Mayonnaise 3. Goat cheese 4. Green peppers

    FOUR MUSICIANS / BANDS / GROUPS I LIKE: 1. Grateful Dead 2. Joan Osborne 3. J.S. Bach 4. Misty River

    BONUS QUESTION – THE ONE SONG I HATE MORE THAN ANY OTHER: 1. Old Time Rock & Roll by Bob Seger

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    trishka! We should have a meal together sometime.

    Maybe in Reykjavik - another place I want to go!

    %^>

  • tl (unverified)
    (Show?)

    FOUR MOVIES I'VE SEEN MORE THAN ONCE: 1. LOTR Movies 2. Antonia's Line 3. Das Boot 4. Shall We Dance (original Japanese version)

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE LIVED: 1. Tigard, OR 2. Rostock, DDR (before the wall came down) 3. Providence, RI 4. Coos Bay, OR

    FOUR TELEVISION PROGRAMS I WATCH: 1. Battlestar Galactica 2. Good Eats 3. 60 Minutes 4. Dirty Jobs

    FOUR FAVORITE PASTIME ACTIVITIES: 1. Playing/composing string quartet music 2. Travel 3. Recumbent Cycling 4. Reading

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE BEEN: 1. Aran Islands 2. Israel 3. Japan 4. Finland

    FOUR PLACES I WANT TO GO: 1. Vietnam 2. Tibet 3. New Zealand 4. Egypt

    FOUR FAVORITE THINGS TO EAT: 1. OR/WA Red wines 2. Dark chocolate 3. Anything Thai 4. Anything my partner "experimentally" cooks

    FOUR FOODS I DON'T LIKE: 1. Liver 2. Parsnips 3. Winter squash 4. Crab (I know, I know, but I love everything else from the sea; I'm a generous host when it is being served)

    FOUR MUSICIANS / BANDS / GROUPS I LIKE: 1. Yo Yo Ma 2. Flanders & Swann 3. David Grisman 4. Deborah Henson Conant

    BONUS QUESTION – THE ONE SONG I HATE MORE THAN ANY OTHER: 1. Anything by Celine Dion (am thoughtfully trying not to plant a bad musical suggestion in your mind's ear)

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    Been out of town, so I dunno if anyone's reading this, but....

    FOUR MOVIES I'VE SEEN MORE THAN ONCE: 1. Stranger than Paradise 2. Sunset Boulevard 3. Rafifi 4. The Third Man

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE LIVED: 1. Boise 2. Salt Lake City 3. Madison, WI 4. Varanasi, India

    FOUR TELEVISION PROGRAMS I WATCH: 1. Sixth Sense (DVD) 2. Homicide, Life on the Street (DVD) 3. Ugly Betty 4. McLaughlin Group (guilty pleasure)

    FOUR FAVORITE PASTIME ACTIVITIES: 1. Meditating 2. Blogging 3. Beer-related activities 4. Scouring the internets for Obama news

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE BEEN: 1. Mother Theresa's convent in Calcutta (attended Mass) 2. Camp Randall Stadium, Madison Wisconsin 3. The Southernmost point of the US (Big Island) 4. Wat Po in Bangkok

    FOUR PLACES I WANT TO GO: 1. Cairo 2. Paris 3. Dublin 4. Rumtek, Sikkim

    FOUR FAVORITE THINGS TO EAT: Eat? Forget about that... 1. IPA 2. Belgian Lambic Ale 3. Irish stout 4. any cask ale

    FOUR FOODS I DON'T LIKE: 1. Scotch egg 2. Too-dark chocolate 3. Boiled anything 4. Decaf coffee

    FOUR MUSICIANS / BANDS / GROUPS I LIKE: 1. Tom Waits 2. Gotan Project 3. Miles Davis 4. Velvet Underground

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    FOUR NOVELS: 1. A Star Called Henry (Roddy Doyle) 2. Obabakoak (Bernardo Atxaga) 3. Resurrection (Tolstoy) 4. Satanic Verses (Salman Rushdie)

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    Is that four novels you have read more than once? or some other classification?

  • Ms Mel Harmon (unverified)
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    Okay, I've been lurking and reading and I'm struck by how many folks have lived overseas, which is really neat. I also find myself wondering how different the answers would be if these questions were posted on a Republican blog. I'm guessing that there wouldn't be as many folks who have lived overseas and that there wouldn't be as many who hope to visit other countries as much as other places in this country.

    I guess what I'm wondering is....my experiences seem to indicate that Democrats, in general, are better traveled than Republicans. Is this something you would agree with or have I just encountered the few Rs who aren't into traveling and experiencing other cultures?

  • Ms Mel Harmon (unverified)
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    And here's my answers:

    FOUR MOVIES I'VE SEEN MORE THAN ONCE: 1. Any Star Trek film 2. Any Star Wars film (even the icky Annakin ones) 3. Any Pixar film 4. Any film with Christian Bale or Sean Bean

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE LIVED: 1. Pennsylvania 2. Oklahoma 3. Oregon 4.

    FOUR TELEVISION PROGRAMS I WATCH: 1. PBS Newshour 2. NCIS 3. Dead Like Me (on DVD) 4. Law and Order SVU (on DVD)

    FOUR FAVORITE PASTIME ACTIVITIES: 1. Reading--books, newspapers, magazines, newsletters 2. Surfing for interesting websites/blogs 3. Working puzzlebooks 4. Volunteering at the Library

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE BEEN: 1. All states in the U.S. except Wyoming, Alaska and Hawaii 2. Mexico 3. Canada 4. England, France, Germany, Switzerland

    FOUR PLACES I WANT TO GO: 1. Australia 2. Italy and Greece 3. Amsterdam 4. Any tropical island

    FOUR FAVORITE THINGS TO EAT: 1. Fresh Bread 2. Cheese 3. Fruit (except Pineapple which I'm allergic to) 4. Chocolate--any kind, anywhere, any time

    FOUR FOODS I DON'T LIKE: 1. Most beans (except Pinto and Green) 2. Any type of seaweed 3. Any bitter foods 4. Brussel Sprouts and beets

    FOUR MUSICIANS / BANDS / GROUPS I LIKE: 1. Praetorius 2. Anonymous 4 3. Denean 4. Frank Sinatra

    BONUS QUESTION – THE ONE SONG I HATE MORE THAN ANY OTHER: 1. Too many to choose from...but I agree with everything everyone has listed so far on their list for this.

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    FOUR MOVIES I'VE SEEN MORE THAN ONCE: 1. Shawshank Redemption 2. Dawn of the Dead (1978) 3. Night of the Living Dead (original) 4. Any Indiana Jones

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE LIVED: 1. Los Angeles, CA 2. Portland, OR 3. Philadelphia, PA 4. (that's it!)

    FOUR TELEVISION PROGRAMS I WATCH: 1. House 2. The Daily Show 3. The Colbert Report 4. The Soup (so sue me!)

    FOUR FAVORITE PASTIME ACTIVITIES: 1. Summer nights at Dodger Stadium 2. Ultimate Frisbee (mostly in college) 3. Election night! 4. Canvassing

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE BEEN: 1. London 2. Paris 3. Catalina Island, CA for my honeymoon 4. Spokane, WA for an academic conference

    FOUR PLACES I WANT TO GO: 1. Anywhere in Japan 2. Big sky 3. Norway 4. Sweden

    FOUR FAVORITE THINGS TO EAT: 1. Sushi! 2. Lutefisk for Christmas 3. Chinese food 4. Awesome local beer

    FOUR FOODS I DON'T LIKE: 1. Haven't tried any I don't like yet. Give me time.

    FOUR MUSICIANS / BANDS / GROUPS I LIKE: 1. James Taylor 2. Beach Boys 3. Good, classic Journey (hah) 4. Lots of more modern stuff that my wife got me into

    BONUS QUESTION – THE ONE SONG I HATE MORE THAN ANY OTHER: 1. Any bubblegum pop from now-defunct artists. Gross.

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    tl:

    I also wrote that I'd like to visit Vietnam. I'm curious to see your reason.

    My husband's originally from Vietnam, and we'd love to visit together and show our daughter her heritage.

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    Jenni: I have a friend who is a travel writer based in Bangkok, and she told me that Hanoi in particular is just beautiful. She loves it.

    Ms. Mel: I do believe that one of the things that sets Democrats apart from Republicans is a greater respect for (even a fascination with) cultural diversity. International travel is one of the markers for that, certainly.

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    Stephanie:

    Yea, he was born in Saigon, and it would be interesting to go and see how things have changed since he lived there.

    Just the other day, Abby and I were at Ikea and bought a little stuffed elephant. I mentioned it was made in Vietnam, and Abby replies "just like daddy!"

  • tl (unverified)
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    Jenni (& Stephanie),

    I want to travel all over Asia (Thailand, China, India, etc. etc.). Vietnam has particular appeal as I have seen stunning pictures of northern Vietnam, have recently discovered and attended a Vietnamese Buddhist temple, and have made some very good friends originally from n. Vietnam who have offered to be our guides!

    Having lived abroad twice (9 weeks in Finland, 6 mos. in W. Germany and 6 mos. in E. Germany), traveled a fair amount, and met and hosted many exchange students, I know the world would be better if everyone (particularly as students) spent at least 6 months in a country where a different language was spoken.

    In my experience, if humans saved at least 1/100th of the energy that is usually spent focusing on differences between people and instead spent it on looking for our common humanity, they would find there is so much more alikeness between peoples than there is difference.

    -tl

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    tl:

    Yes, I wish I'd had the chance to stay outside the country for at least a few weeks while in high school. Unfortunately, my parents never had the money for me to be able to do any of that. My whole "out of the country" experience was a day visit to Nuevo Progresso in Mexico and a 3 day trip to Vancouver, BC for my sister-in-law's wedding reception.

    I think just the experience of being able to see the United States from an outside perspective would be a big benefit, not to mention getting to see how things are done in other countries. It definitely helps with the us vs. them mentality so many people have about other countries.

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    FOUR MOVIES I'VE SEEN MORE THAN ONCE: 1. A Few Good Men 2. Spaceballs 3. The Big Lebowski 4. Reservoir Dogs

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE LIVED: 1. East Providence, RI 2. Boston, MA 3. Springfield, MO 4. Portland, OR

    FOUR TELEVISION PROGRAMS I WATCH: 1. LOST 2. The Simpsons 3. Family Guy 4. Survivor Man

    FOUR FAVORITE PASTIME ACTIVITIES: 1. Drumming 2. Tennis 3. Baseball 4. Disc Golf

    FOUR PLACES I HAVE BEEN: 1. The Summit of Mount Saint Helens 2. The Ozarks 3. The Summit of Mount Monadnock 4. New Orleans

    FOUR PLACES I WANT TO GO: 1. Ireland 2. Argentina 3. Africa 4. New Zealand

    FOUR FAVORITE THINGS TO EAT: 1. Pasta 2. Lemon Poppyseed Muffins 3. Snickerdoodles 4. Anything Apple

    FOUR FOODS I DON'T LIKE: 1. Rhubarb 2. Shrimp 3. Cottage Cheese 4. Milk

    FOUR MUSICIANS / BANDS / GROUPS I LIKE: 1. Jack Johnson 2. Matt Costa 3. John Butler Trio 4. Weezer

    BONUS QUESTION – THE ONE SONG I HATE MORE THAN ANY OTHER: 1. Music is life...there is not any song I "hate"

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