Sevens...

The impetus for me to finally enter the blogome was participating in what Jesse (see link to Hyperion Court) calls "Self-absorption comes in sevens". I realized I didn't have any good place to put my own list, once I had created one. So, this gave birth to the ulitmate fascination with self: a weblog. If 10 people ever read this, it is better than I have any right to expect. If 10,000 do, it will be less than I would hope. Such is the nature of self-absorption. Anyway, here is the list that started it all...

Seven things to do before I die:

Distill my own rum
Live in a lighthouse
Become a tenured professor of undergraduate biochemistry
Convince the world that religious differences are a stupid thing to fight over
Finish writing the novels that are rattling around in my head
Earn a Ph.D. in comparative theology
Drink aged Belgian beer at the Kulminator

Seven things I cannot do:

Whistle
Hide my emotions
Surprise my wife
Bike, hike, kayak, and ski as much as I would like
Smile naturally in photos
Tell jokes well
Separate work and life as much as I should

Seven things I like about where I live (Massachusetts):

The weather
The geography (terminal glacial moraine meets ocean)
Cape Cod
Apple picking
Great road biking
Being close to my family
October

Jesse’s Bonus – Seven things I don’t like about where I live:

The cost of housing
The short growing season
Suburban sprawl
There are places my wife would rather be
Ants (My own private war)
It’s not the British Virgin Islands
February

Seven things I say most often:

Smoo
Hi kiddo
I don’t believe that (in reference to labwork)
Fascinating
Humph
Groovy
That’s hysterical (and I wish I didn’t)

Seven books or writers that I love:

JRR Tolkien
Terry Pratchett
George Howe Colt (The Big House)
Dan Simmons (Hyperion Cantos)
Farley Mowat
Henry Beetle Hough
David Brin (Earth, in particular)

Seven movies I watch over and over and over again:

Oceans’ Eleven
Lord of the Rings
Band of Brothers (technically a miniseries, I suppose)
Gettysburg
Smokey and the Bandit
Passed Away
Legendary Lighthouses (set of PBS specials)

Charlie’s Bonus – Seven famous people with whom you would like to have dinner (past or present):

Rebecca Romijn
John Alden
J. Robert Oppenheimer
Henry Beetle Hough
Robin Williams
Charles Wesley
Jesus Christ

H's Bonus – Seven CDs that are in the car right now:

U2 – All That You Can’t Leave Behind
Dan Fogelberg – Innocent Age
A Covenant of Thorns – Hallowed and Hollow
Trojan Box Set – Carnival
Creed – My Own Prison
The Highwaymen (Cash, Jennings, Kristofferson, and Nelson) – The Road Goes On Forever
Bruce Springsteen – Devils and Dust

Seven people I want to join in (with Jesse’s lack of limitations)

My wife
my Dad
my Mom
Rich
Meg
Martin Luther
Charles Darwin