entertaining infinity

fun

The fabulous Ze Frank started an art project on his spin off/sub-blog of color war games that began as another of his brilliant and fun whims, and this project (the art project, not the spin off/sub-blog) was inspired by the cool dance video that you can see below.  (did you follow that?  yeah, me either, but i'm not going back to edit ...)

Bottom line? The Young Me/Now Me project invites people to submit photos of themselves when they were kids, and then recreate those same shots today.  (i thought i might go dig up a shot to submit but it might be hard since i was running around naked much of the time.)  (then again, some might enjoy that ... or run screaming from the room never to return.)

But I digress.

Here's where you go for the "how-to" of the Young Me/Now Me project.  (you'll also find more web based adult play-dates from ze frank in that general vicinity ...)

And here's where you can see the cool thing that inspired it all.  A dance/video project by a woman named Lauren Thompson (whose youtube name is pooplauren - love that) where she dances along with a movie of herself as a little girl. 

We should all dance without restraint like this at least a couple of times a week, don'tcha think? white space white space

tagged

Got tagged by former client/friend/coach/over-all fabulous woman Carol Ross.  Perfect timing too, cause I've been pretty uninspired by blogging lately and a meme's just the ticket for direction/inspiration.   (and might help me get some momentum going ... so ...)

Five Things Most People Don't Know About Me.  (in chronological order) 

ONE - I was born 3 weeks past the day I was due.  And from the time my mother's water broke to the time I came out?  One hour.  My father says he did not believe the nurse who came to the waiting room to tell him that his wife had delivered.  He said he protested: "It can't be; they just wheeled her in 20 minutes ago."  But nope, it was me.  Takin' my time ... just hangin' and then ... whoom; out.  (could this be where the previously mentioned foot dragging/"i'm not ready, ok now i'm ready and let's go" tendency began?) 

(oooh; deep-i-osity ...)

TWO - When I was a kid I began "doing voices" ... it started with our next door neighbor.  She was an old woman (i wonder how old she was, really ... she seemed ancient to me at the time) who lived alone, and she had a very distinctive voice that I would imitate.  Apparently it was pretty damn good, cause my parents would often ask for command performances: "Do Miss Angle," they'd say, and I would affect the voice and recount the story of the time a bat got in her attic and she thought it was a bird. 

As I got older I became fascinated with comedians who would do impersonations and I'd beg my parents to let me watch Kopy Kats - an irregularly produced variety show where Rich Little and Marilyn Michaels would run through their various characters in silly little skits.  Although the rule in our house was just two hours of television a week, exceptions were occassionally made, and I'd get to see it. 

I tried doing celebrities myself: my Barbra Streisand was OK - you definitely knew it was her (and it wasn't just the crossed eyes and the way i tossed my make-believe page boy); and I could get Julia Andrews spot-on for the first bars of The Sound of Music: "The heells ad'a alive with the soundov muuusick ... withe soogs they'ave sung foda thousandheeahs, " but I couldn't get much farther than that.  So while the celeb impersonations never got better than almost-mediocre, I had "the ear" and have always been able to pick up/imitate a lot of accents and dialects. 

When I moved back to the US from Australia, a number of family and friends commented on a 'lilt' in my voice, and I'm sure I'd picked inflections and ways of pronouncing words that had a bit of Aussie influence, but I know I still sounded 100% Yank to the Aussies.

THREE - When I was in grade school/junior high, 75% of my first crushes turned out to be gay.  These guys made the perfect first boyfriends for us pre-teen straight girls because after they'd kiss you, they'd still want to talk to you ... unlike the pre-pubescent straight boys who either wanted to climb on you ... or have nothing to do with you. 

Many of these former junior high crushes are still friends.  As I often say (and may very well have said here on the blog before), I was a fag hag before I knew what one was.

FOUR - I worked on a cruise ship between my senior year in high school and freshman year in college.  (and then again between two of my other three summer breaks in college ...) My uncle had the concession for the gift shop on several ships in the Chandris cruise line, and that first summer my cousin Sherm and I worked on four different ships taking inventory.  We decided from the start of the summer that we'd work like mad at the beginning of each of the cruises to get everything done, so the remainder of the time we could just play unencumbered.

We traveled all over the Mediterranean: Greece, Italy, Spain, France, Egypt, Israel, Turkey, Africa.  We did some crazy stuff and when we talk about those times we often marvel at what we did/went through.  We also marvel at the things we didn't do; we were 18 at the time, and beaches and clubs were just as exciting (and often more exciting) than the historical sites or places of real note.  We do have a photo of us sitting on top of a camel in front of the pyramids in Egypt though. 

Not all the adventures that summer were delightful (it was the best of times, but it was also the worst of times), and yet, they've all combined to create one of the most mind blowing, life altering experiences ever. 

FIVE - About a week before I moved back to the US from Australia, I got a tattoo.  I'd never had any desire to get one; my decision was almost spontaneous (ie: i only simmered with it a few days before i did it). 

Daf was the one who wanted to get one; he'd been saying that he wanted to mark his next milestone birthday with a tatoo.  This birthday was still a year or so off, but still, every now and then he'd say: I'm thinking about fill in the blank for my tattoo, as though he were trying on the design possibilities in his mind before he branded them onto his skin.  I found myself doodling some of the things he'd talk about, and occasionally adding some of my own ideas to the pot.  I'd often say: you should incorporate the Southern Cross in the design.  I thought that this constellation that you can only see in the Southern Hemisphere - that also shows up on the Australian flag - would be a pretty cool thing to have in the design.  It was one of the possibilities that he was tossing around, and I was lobbying pretty hard for its inclusion. 

When we learned that we would be leaving Australia two years before his assignment was supposed to end (we were crushed), he starting thinking about getting it done before we left.  He made an appointment at a place where some friends of ours had theirs done.  As the day of the appointment neared, he still hadn't decided what the design would be and I continued to lobby for the Southern Cross.  By this time, I ditched the idea of incorporating it into a design - I thought the constellation on its own would be enough. 

When he said he didn't want to rush to a choice and would probably pass on doing it before we left, I realized that maybe it was ME who should be getting the Southern Cross tatoo. 

Daf, being the good friend and partner that he was, tried to provide a little push-back: "What if you regret it?" he asked me.  Well then, I said, I guess I'll be reminded of how amazing our time was here, how much it changed me, and how crazy in love with the country I was that I would brand my body with the stars on its flag.

We kept the appointment at the tatoo place, and I was the one who got inked.

Two years later, Daf got his tat: a Kokopelli on his ankle.  Me?  I have the five stars of the Southern Cross on my left shoulder blade. 

(and i don't regret it.) 

Tagging whoever wants to play.  (but i would get a kick out of hearing what will, leah, marilyn and kerstin might reveal ...)

this post is brought to you by the letter E

I learned about the letter meme when reading this post from Marilyn, which was prompted by this one from Patry (which it seems was inspired by a post from this guy ...).  It's not as if we bloggers don't have plenty of fodder to write about, but sometimes it's fun to get pointed somewhere you might not ordinarily look, so fun ideas like these just seem to burn through the blogosphere like wildfire.

The idea behind this exercise is to use a letter as inspiration - but beyond that, there are no rules.  And the cool twist is, you don't just pick a letter randomly, you ask for one ... and Patry was handing out letters.  When I asked to play she said: " ... you strike me as a vowel kind of person.  How about E?"

So in the spirit of Sesame Street, this post is brought to you by the letter E ...

-- As I simmered with the possibilities of the letter E, I realized that many words that start with E are favorites of mine. 

Eccentric, engaging, entertaining, express(ive), emotional, extreme, extrovert(ed), eclectic, electric, eloquent, euphoric, energetic, ebullient, exuberant, effervescent, elated, emancipated, endearing, erotic, exotic, evolved, emboldened, exposed, embraced, essence, enriched, ecstatic, epiphany, encouraging, emerging, extend, expand, explore. 

-- A list of words starting with E that would not be used to describe me: ectomorph, early, elegant, efficient, easy ("although in certain circumstances, maybe ..." she said suggestively).

-- A few more thorough explorations of E words:

East Coast - Where I live (in the U.S.).  Spent some time on the west coast and a few years in Australia.  (but i was on the east coast in australia too ...)

Expatriate (aka: expat) - what I was when I lived in Australia.  I'd never really heard that word much before I moved to Oz, but anyone who lived there who was originally from somewhere else was known as an expat.  I loved being an expat. 

Epitome - First time I heard this word, someone mispronounced it (EPP-eh-tome) and the mispronunciation almost always plays in my head when I read it.  (and thinking of it with that incorrect pronunciation always helped me to spell it ...)  The epitome of a memorable spelling story.

Elvis - I am a fan.  Well, maybe not a fan, since (although the guy could really sing) my appreciation of him has more to do with the kitch factor that's sprung up in the wake of his death.  (i love the mojo nixon/skid roper song 'elvis is everywhere' ... it kinda speaks to the groove/kitchness of elvis ...)  So maybe it's not Elvis that I'm a fan of per se, but the Cult of Elvis.  (the fact that I am now 3 years older than he was when he died kinda wigs me out, cause back then, i thought he was bordering on old ...)

Ego - I have one.  I try to separate what it wants from what matters; sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.  A recent-ish example: when I learned that a man who I once thought had a crush on me did not actually ever have that crush, I found that I was loathe to let the old story in my head go.  Not that I wanted him to have that crush cause I wasn't interested in HIM, but what do you mean he didn't have a crush on me?  What was wrong with me?  Was I unappealing?  Was I too bodacious? fat? unattractive?  If he really didn't have a crush on me, then why did he pay so much attention to me?  What was that all about?  Are you SURE he didn't actually have a crush on me?  (he didn't?  really?  fool.)  Damn, that ego really wants to be front and center all the time, doesn't it?  It's always running commentary, judging and categorizing and blah, blah, blah.  Thank god for meditation ... occasionally I get glimpses of life where the ego is not backseat driving, distracting and detouring me.  (oops, a digression into the letter "d" ...)

... and speaking of ego (sort of) ...

Envy - If I think about people I envy and why, I usually discover where I'm selling out on myself and not going for what I really want.

Etiquette - When I was in college I did a spring break internship with Letitia Baldrige - emissary of all things etiquette, Jackie Kennedy's former Social Secretary, and owner of her own PR firm.  Baldrige was a trustee of my college at the time, and while don't remember how I managed to snag the gig, I do remember that it was an incredible experience.  Rather than the typical internship where you're regulated to all the grunt work that nobody in the office wants to do, Ms. Baldrige took the mentoring charge seriously and made sure I got a real taste of what it was like to work in PR.  She included me in almost everything in the office ... I stuffed envelopes with her account exec's, but I also went to a book release party at "21" (where i rubbed elbows with the rich and fabulous of NY and actually got to meet and chat for a few minutes with kurt vonnegut ... cool!).  I filed press clippings, but I also tagged along to a big presentation with a fashion designer.  She had me take a stab at writing a press release or two, and she also had me meet her at her home before going to a lunch meeting at The Palm Room in the Plaza hotel with the beauty editor of the now defunct McCall's magazine (i reaped fabulous free cosmetic rewards from that meeting).  She was incredibly gracious, took care in building relationships, and respected people equally whether they were a big hooha like Kurt Vonnegut, or a 20 year old college student like me.  I learned a lot about PR from her in a very short time.  (hint: it's got a lot to do with good etiquette ...)

Earrings - I have three holes in my ears.  One in the right, two in the left.  The first two were put in when I was 12 or 13 at a jewelry store with one of those punch guns ... it happened so fast, I barely felt it.  As for the third hole?  Armed with ice cubes and a potato (to hold behind the ear for leverage), my mother sterilized a needle in our kitchen and did the deed herself when I was 15-ish.  Causing her child pain was not something mom wanted to do, so when the needle got halfway through my earlobe and it was clear that it had reached a part that the ice hadn't quite numbed, she retreated to the other side of the kitchen waving her hands around saying she couldn't go through with it ... couldn't go through with it.  I encouraged her (loudly and with much feeling) to finish the job ... and she did.  I think it was the first time I said "fuck" in her presence.  (it would not be the last.)

... and speaking of which ...

Expletives - I heard somewhere that swearing is for people who have lousy vocabularies and no imagination.  I have a pretty good vocabulary and quite the imagination, and I still think there are times when nothing can replace a good "fuck."   

(... and then there are those great double entendre's ...)    ;)

Edge - Happy when looking for mine, and then pushing it.

End - This is it.

me, me, me ... A to Z

Got tagged by Kerstin for an A to Z meme. 

Accent - Yer basic 'merican.  I also have a good ear, and have been able to absorb accents from lots of different places.  This also means I'm a bit of a chameleon ... when I hang out with my friend G from NC, I find myself slowin' down mah speech and soundin' a bit ... suuthern' ... and when moved back from Oz, my US friends said I sounded slightly Australian.  (to the aussies, i never sounded like anything but a yank ...)  I think the chameleon talent has also helped me avoid most Jersey-like accent tendencies (... or so i'm told ...).

Booze - Not often.  I have very little tolerance for alcohol ... if I drink half a glass of wine, I'm loopy ... and then it's time to snooze.  (guys love it, i'm a cheap date ...)  But I do like wine.  Red wine particularly.  If I don't have to drive anywhere, I might go wild and drink a whole glass or two.  (and i recently got introduced to a champagne that could turn me into an alcoholic ...)

Chore I hate - Anything requiring a left brain. 

Dogs/Cats - Don't have any pets at the moment.  (although i kinda think of my plants as my 'green pets' ...)

Essential electronics - Cell phone, laptop.  I miss having a digital camera.  (the one i used in the past belonged to the guy formerly known as schweetie.)  (must look at the financial picture and see when I can get one ... [uh oh, an activity for that pesky left brain!] ... then again, we could always think about it tomorrow at tara ...)

Favorite perfume - I have a really keen sence of smell.  Daf (what i'll call the ex-husband/friend who i usually call 'ex-husband/friend,' but it's too damn clunky, so ... henceforth he shall be known as 'daf' - which is already one of his nicknames, so it's easy to use ...) ... Daf used to be amazed by how I could smell someones perfume from the other side of the room - or how I could smell someone smoking a cigarette in the car ahead of us - even when all our windows were closed.  He'd often wonder aloud "how could you make some money with that nose?"  Alas, if there was a way to make bucks with this nose, our paths have not crossed.  (yet another infinite option i can cross off the list.  wheew, one more down ... one step closer to discovering "the thing.")  (yeah, right ...)

So anyway, with a strong sence of smell, it's no wonder I like perfume.  They're another touchstone of memory that I really enjoy - and there are several perfumes that I use regularly.

There are actually two tiers - the first: which get a lot of wear, and then the "occasionally rotated" second tier...

Of the favorites, the one that's been with me the longest and still gets the most use? Arpege. It was discontinued for nearly a decade and I really missed it.  Smells like longing and possibility.  The other favorite is Kis Unisex.  I discovered it in Australia and you can't get it anywhere but there, so I order it and have it shipped to the US now.  I adore it.  It smells like possibility and freedom and sensuality ... which is pretty much how I felt living in Australia. 

The "second tier" of scents include: Dune.  This one is borderline top tier.  It smells like a combination of a creamsicle, sex and a day at the beach. Somehow they all mix and it smells incredibly sexy. Oscar de la Renta ... smells like my junior year in college.  Escape.  Started wearing this during my first years working in theater so it always reminds me of those days ... and a fun, wild affair with an actor I had then.  Peace & Calming - an essential oil blend that is yummy, and kinda does have a calming effect. 

As for natural perfumes?  Honeysuckle all the way.  Smells like spring ... also smells like lust on a humid summer afternoon when the sky is about to open up with rain.  Yum.

Gold or Silver - Silver. Except for Mom's gold ring.

Hometown - Several.  Homes of the heart include: Berkeley, CA (and the entire bay area); Sydney, Australia.  I've lived in and around Princeton, NJ for the longest chunk of my life, so it - and the entire NJ/NY area - winds up feeling the most "home-like" area in the world. 

Insomnia - Sometimes ... not often, thank god.  Happens more often when I'm stressed.  (and any time you have it, it SUCKS.) 

Job title - Ay, there's the rub.  We just don't know, do we Deb?  There's making money and there's what you're supposed to be DOING with your life.  Hm ... stay tuned.

Kids - Stepson Charlie.  Graduating from high school in two weeks.  Can't believe it.  Wasn't he just 5 a little while ago?  Oy; I feel old.

Living arrangements - Living with dear friend LMD (i used to refer to her as D, but LMD is short for a nickname that i actually call her, so henceforth the roomie shall be known as 'LMD').  We're going on 2 months living together and it's been a delightful thing.  If you're going to end a 2 1/2 year relationship, having a friend like LMD who opens her arms and home to you is really something.  I'm a lucky gal.

Most admired trait - In other people?  Tenacity, humor, irreverence/reverence, an open mind, loving heart, artistic sensabilities, an ability and willingness to talk ... about almost anything.  Sure there's more, but that's just off the top of my head.  What do others admire about me?  Hard to say - you'd have to ask them ... but I tend to think that the things you admire in other people are things that matter to you about yourself.  I guess I'd hope those are the sorts of things others see in me.

Number of sexual partners - None 'a yer beeswax.  (and then, as bill clinton might say: it also depends on what you mean by sex ...)

Overnight hospital stays - 1) When I was born.  (i'm a wiseass, i know ...)  2)  When I was 19, for a wicked case of mono.  3) In my mid-thirties to remove a fibroid tumor from my uterus that was the size of a small cantaloupe (i have pictures of it too - and they are strangely cool).   4) Stayed over with my mother in her room during the last week of her life ... tough stuff, but I wouldn't have missed being able to do it for nothin'.

Phobia - Don't think I have any true phobias, but I can make just about anything terrifying.  (it's that infinity thing again!)

Quote - I'm a collector of inspiring quotes/song lyrics/poems and it's hard to pick just one ... so I won't.  My top five in no particular order:

• "We must overcome the notion that we must be regular.  It robs you of the chance to be extraordinary and leads to the mediocre."  ~ Uta Hagen
• "Out beyond ideas of wrong-doing and right-doing there is a field.  I'll meet you there.  When the soul likes down in the grass the world is too full to talk about.  Ideas, language, even the phrase 'each other' doesn't make any sense."  ~ Rumi
• "If you hear a voice within you saying: 'You are not a painter,' then paint, and that voice will be silenced."  ~ Vincent Van Gough
• I love Mary Oliver's The Summer Day poem, but there's something really special about this part: "I don't know exactly what a prayer is. I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass, how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields, which is what I have been doing all day. Tell me, what else should I have done? Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon? Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"
• And even though David Whyte's poem is called The Truelove, I don't think it's only about the love between romantic partners.  It's how I'd like love with a partner to be (so far i've only had hints of it myself) ... but I also feel like it's about finding alignment with the cosmos and taking your place in it.  And it is one luscious poem.  (hearing david whyte read it is even better ...)

Religion - Not a big fan of religion.  I'm a Yoda following, Jewish-Buddhist-leaning believer in love, nature and the Force.

Siblings - Older sister "Suz" is 1 year, 2 weeks, and 1 day older than I am.  (a seriously determined sperm fought its way through my mother's diaphragm to get me conceived.  needless to say, my folks were ... uh ... surprised to learn that i was joining the party ...)  If I falter on my "U" (below), Sister Suz can usually fill in the gaps. 

My brother "Bean" is 6 years younger than I; when we were kids I thought his reason for being was to tease me incessantly and bring me to tears. Now he is an amazingly loving father and his little kids bring me to delightful tears all the time.  A worthwhile exchange methinks.

Time I usually wake up - work days I have the alarm set for 6:19 (i don't set alarms on round numbers ... an old habit), and on non-work days?  I sleep as late as I can!

Unusual talent - I have an almost scary memory for pop culture trivia ... particularly bubble gum music of the 60s, 70s and early 80s.  (and back to the letter A, ... i can do accents pretty well too ...)

Vegetable I refuse to eat - Mushrooms.  And lima beans.  Asparagus is kinda wasted on me too.

Worst habit - Getting stuck or getting into ruts.  Actually don't know if it's a habit, but it might be.  (it's often related to the letter C issue ...)

X-rays - when necessary.

Yummy foods I make - Dad follows the Pritikin diet, but he says if he knew his number was up, he'd have me make a batch of my chocolate chip cookies (with walnuts and raisins) and snarf 'em all.  They're really good if I do say so myself.  I'm also "famous" for my Pavlova (this link doesn't go to my recipe ... but it gives you the idea ... it's heaven on a plate ...).  Got a few other favorites: ratatouille, veggie split pea soup, African peanut soup. 

Zodiac sign - Capricorn ... with a bit of Sagittarius and Cancer rising or mooning.  Don't really follow the horoscope thing, but had my chart "done" once and it was kinda interesting.  Insightful about some re-occurring patterns in my life; I actually learned from it.  It gave me a different perspective (which i'm always up for getting).

So there you have it ... A to Z all about me. 

Not tagging anyone, but if you want to play, have at it.  It's a cool writing prompt.

tagged again ...

Maria tagged me with Five Fives ... so I'm it.

Five things in my fridge:

• Past-their-prime zucchini and eggplant that I need to throw away.  I was going to use to use them last weekend to make my "famous" ratatouille but I just kept putting it off and now they're garbage disposal fodder. 
• Trader Joe's stuffed jalapeno olives.  YUM. LOVE them. (and a couple can really circumvent a sugar craving ...)
• Baby carrots & roasted garlic hummus; a favorite not-too-guilty snack.
• Leftover salmon from dinner out the other night.  (damn, it's probably past its prime like the zucchini and eggplant).
• And, if I may stretch the category a bit (why would today be different from all other days?) ... in my freezer: a few good (and not horribly bad for you) treats ... and the requisite Lean Cuisine's.

Five items in my closet:

• My great new shoes
• Several fabulous space saving devices.  (i love the container store.)
• Fewer clothes than I used to have 'cause I got really ruthless when I was moving recently.  Decided to trust the age old advice: if you haven't worn it since you moved last, toss it.  And even though I'd just moved a year and a half prior, I reckoned it was time for a lot of those things to go.
• The most comfortable pair of jeans that probably should have been tossed in the move (cause they are almost more frayed than not), but they are so damn comfy.  I just wear 'em around the house now, but sometimes I'm temped to wear them out cause I love them so much I can't imagine why the rest of the world would not forgive them their frayed edges and knees and love them too.
• My hair cutting bag of tricks.  When I lived in Australia I didn't have a work visa so I got to play dilettante for a while ... and I wound up getting licensed to cut hair.  Worked in a salon in Sydney VERY briefly, but never gave a lot of serious thought to pursuing a career as a hair stylist.  I don't do a lot of cutting anymore ... but it's fun to have all the stuff when the opportunity arises with family, boyfriend or friends ... or if I desperately feel the need to have bangs again.

Five items in my car:

• A happy Buddha who sits in the ash tray.
• A copy of a mixed tape I'd made for my sister's birthday a few years ago with great hits by such fab-wah hitmakers as The Partridge Family, The Monkees, The Herman's Hermits, The Grass Roots, and The Cowsills. It was such a great mix, I had to make a copy for myself.   ;) 
• Tissues, chapstick, mints, toothbrush, hand sanitizer ... my own little drug store in the arm rest.
• The road atlas that kept me company on my drive when I moved to California, and then again on my way back to Joisey a little over 4 years later.  It's probably out of date, but I haven't gotten lost with it yet, and I just can't seem to part with it.
• Bubbles.  Nothing like blowing bubbles out the window of your car to make traffic jam more tolerable.  I'm never without them.  (go buy some yourself and see what i mean ... )

Five items in my purse:

• My date book
• MAC Hyper lipstick (about the only lipstick i wear)
• Too many pens
• Hand cream, travel size (from a hotel stay.  if the name of the hotel is printed on it ... or if it comes from a recent stay - like the one that's in my car now - it can call up that trip in my mind ... which is always fun.)
• Glasses & my contact lens case - the older I get, the more interesting the dance of vision correction becomes.  ;)  (time for bifocals.  and bifocal contact lenses too.)

Five people who are 'it' now:

You wanna play?  Have at it! (let me know if you do ... always curious to see what other people have to say ...)

tagged

Maria tagged me for this delightful meme thing ... here goes:

Four jobs I've had:

• Working in the gift shop on a cruise ship
• Counselor and boating instructor at a Girl Scout camp
• PR goddess in non-profit theater(s)
• Conference Queen for The Coaches Training Institute (ok, my official title was director of pr ...)

Four movies I can watch over and over:

(i only get to pick FOUR?)

• Harold and Maude
• The Princess Bride
• Out of Africa
• Thelma and Louise

(and field of dreams, muriel's wedding, dazed and confused, pleasantville, annie hall, the jerk, wonder boys, dangerous liaisons, the hudsucker proxy, age of innocence, when harry met sally, cinema paradiso, the adventures of priscilla - queen of the dessert, a fish called wanda, star wars, monty python and the holy grail, the philadelphia story, holiday, it's a wonderful life, wild things, the usual suspects, holy smoke, the shawshank redemption, the wizard of oz; i kinda like movies ...) 

Four places I've lived:

• Sydney, Australia
• Berkeley, CA
• Brooklyn, NY
• Princeton, NJ

Four TV shows I love(d):

• Six Feet Under
• Mindless infotainment
• Thirtysomething
• I can rarely turn away from shows on this channel even though I suck at doing the stuff they do on the shows on this channel.

Four places I've vacationed:

• Lindeman Island, Australia
• The US (drove cross country by myself ... twice)
• The Lake District, UK
• The Outer Banks of NC

Four of my favorite dishes:

if i may change the question a little ... to favorite foods:

• fruit: peaches, strawberries, watermelon, cantaloupe, pineapple, blueberries, grapefruit, bananas, fuji apples, white grapes (no seeds please)
• most things Italian
• most things Mexican
• breakfast

Four sites I visit daily:

• my email account
• Google

other than that, i don't visit any site daily, but these are in heavy rotation:

• USA Today (i love craig wilson's stuff)
• my blogger buddies (see sidebar for the regular rollcall)

Four places I'd rather be right now:

I'm usually pretty OK with where I am (even when i'm not too thrilled with where i am ... if you can follow that logic) - but if I could pick ...

• Muir Beach (in photo)
• Bondi Beach
• in front of a fire
• hanging out with good friends

(combine the bottom two with one of the top two, and i'd be in heaven!)

Four bloggers I'm tagging:

Two bloggers I know well ...

• Marilyn of California Fever
• Will of CyberJazzDaddy

and just to mix it up and stretch into new worlds ... two blogs I read w/semi-regularity and enjoy, but whose authors I don't really know ...

• Michelle from la vie en rose
• Kathryn from Mindful Life