And Michael passes another Meme along to you. Enjoy!

Fad you wish you had never bought into: I don't think there really is one. I've never been one for fads.

City you would next like to live in: San Francisco, London.

Food you used to love and now can't stand: Cadbury Creme Eggs. Huevos Rancheros.

Childhood idol: Childhood: (Matt, just cope with this) Dennis Troedson; Frank Powell (fifth- and sixth-grade teachers, Vichy Elementary) Teen: Christina Penna (English teacher, Valley High).

Biggest leap of faith: Leaving the best job I ever had to go back to school

Worst job that I've had: County Utility Payment Center -- Gregory and I both worked there. Ugh.

Least favorite drug: Not applicable

Least favorite slang word: C--t.

Guilty pleasure tv show: I have no "guilty" feelings about anything I watch, and nothing I watch strikes me as something I ought to be above.

Favorite song in eighth grade: Hmmm. That'd be 1984, and I honestly can't recall much of the songs that year off the top of my head, let alone which was my favorite. Now, *9th* grade, it was "Kyrie" by Mister Mister.

Cd or tape you are most ashamed of: None. I am shamed by nothing I own.

Favorite screen couple: John Crichton and Aeryn Sun. Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant.

Most hated celebrity: I don't /hate/ anyone, especially someone I don't even know, but Charleton Heston and John Travolta irritate me. So does Jay Leno.

First crush: Heh. 3rd Grade. I don't recall the last name, but his first name was . . . Shite. I can't recall it. Karl? Ben? Crap. That's gonna drive me batty. Yes, my first crush was another boy. And yet I didn't admit even to myself to being gay until I was 24? High school would have been much simpler had I just come out. Sure, I would have been disliked for that, but better that than the other reasons.

Favorite halloween costume: Something I did in high school. White robes shoes, etc., one of those blank white face masks, and a white hooded overrobe. A few people screamed when I just stood and pointed at them. I'll never forget Tomoko Degonia's reaction: "uhm... who are you?" (nervous, edge-of-tears voice)

First concert: Kitaro's Kojiki tour. Second was Crowded House's Woodface tour.

Ever seen a ghost? Many times. I feel them more often than I see them, though.

First friend: David Jaffe, the other Star Wars freak in elementary school. We played with action figures in a "secret" part of the playground (a hollow area in a pine tree's branches). Sadly, that secret place no longer exists. Michael Mitchell, however, ranked higher in later years. I often wonder what happened to them both.

Favorite simpsons character: Lisa. I so identify with her feelings towards her family.

Re-occurring dreams: Leaving Earth behind, revealing to my friends I'm an alien, and starfighter combat.

Favorite playground equipment: Jungle bars.

Number of first cousins: Technically, 4, though two are referred to as my sisters.

Name of freshman year dorm: Not applicable.

Summer camp: None. I lived on a (very small) ranch, summer camp would have been silly. I already spent my days hiking, riding, and swimming.

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I saw Pi and Brazil recently, courtesy of lograh.

Pi: Weird. Very weird. Nice, but a bit too spastic for my tastes -- too many fast edits, too grainy an image, and some of it was downright nonsensical. The plot is bare-bones, the supporting cast is almost nonexistent, so cardboard are they -- and yet it works. When looked at as one man's journey into psychosis from touching the name of God, it's fascinating.

Brazil: Brilliant. Freaky, but brilliant. The only thing I can say bad about it is that Terry Gilliam, judging from his commentary, is a sadly bitter man who is far too full of himself. Got news for you, Terry: You're good, but you're not the be-all of film. If you really dislike American moviemaking so much, move to Europe and make all your movies there. Sheesh. Enough with the whining!

I could get into a whole rant here on Art Films and the overblown idiocy surrounding them, but I won't. I'll save it for my next essay. Or another post. One of the two.

Season Finale rundown

Ok...

Buffy rocked. As I expected, Spike wanted the chip removed and got his soul instead. Good call, Terr. I half-expected the demon to just make him human again -- that would have been fun, too.

Andromeda: Cool stuff. Can't wait to see the next season.

Earth: Final Conflict: The HELL? Ok, this show has always been uneven, but sheeeet! This whole past season has been a mess. First we have four years of the Taelon/Jaridian/Human conflict, with little secrets and pieces of the overall puzzle falling into place every few episodes. Good. Then, in season 5, we completely do away with the Taelons and Jaridians and get the Atavus, lose Liam, and the show is put back almost on square one. In the finale, the "Great Destiny" foretold for so many seasons boils down to "Renee and Liam go off to explore the universe and bring word back to Earth how cool it is."

BAH! BAH, I say!

I feel cheated. What was an uneven but generally cool show fell flat on its ass.

Boston Public: I cried. Sue me.

Announcing the Mahdi's first Contest!

You know the biggest problem I have with the International Space Station?

It has a stupid name. I mean, come on! This is the first big step in space exploration since Columbia first launched, and it is named in a utilitarian, stupid way.

I know my overly-semanticist friends will disagree, and pooh on them. Words have power, and names are the most powerful. When you name something, you set expectations and hopes. If this wasn't true, then we'd all name our kids "Bob" or with serial numbers.

This thing is a stepping stone to the stars, and it ought to have a name that will ignite the imagination. Though it's hokey, something like "Babylon Station" would work, though perhaps "Station Prime" would be more acceptable to the public.

So. Leave a comment with a name you would like to see the ISS christened with.

Please, no joke names. Serious names will please me. :) Name it however you like, but it has to be cool.

Oh, and by the way -- there is an actual physical prize for the choice I like the best. No, I'm not telling you what it is, since it will likely be customized for the winner.

10 Things I Can't Live Without (Or, more correctly, COULD live without but would prefer not to)

1. Books (Fiction)
2. Science Fiction
3. Bagel Bites
4. French Bread Pizza
5. Cats
6. Movies
7. The Ocean
8. RolePlaying Games
9. My sisters
10. Friends

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I need to do more research on Zoroastrianism. I think that may end up as Jason's nominal religion.

(Jason's a character for a story, kids)