I still consider myself a newbie to the JU community but in my time here, I’ve made some great new friends. One of the biggest surprises I’ve found is how similar we all are in a lot of ways. To be honest, this was the last thing I expected. It has highlighted to me how particularly small the world really can be and has given me a greater sense of hope for our collective futures.
I’d like to particularly thank the people on my favourites list for making my time here stimulating and rewarding. There are a few others not on my list who deserve honourable mentions: InBloom, Danny Bassette, Preacherman, Foreverserenity, Draginol, Karmagirl, Phoenixboi, Moderateman, Chiprj and Manopeace.
I’ve been deliberating about what to write for my 50th article, when I read a recent post of Alison Watkins, who was posting her 100th article. In it she said she thought about doing a ‘100 Things You Didn’t Know About Me’. I thought it was a great idea, but thought a list of 50 items would more than cover me. So here it is. I hope you enjoy it.
1. My middle name is Leon.
2. I’m lactose and sucrose intolerant.
3. I have a cat called Pumpkin who thinks she is a dog. I am her favourite human, but only because she has known me the longest.
4. I love performing live music but am deaf because of it.
5. I was born on 22 June 1963, which puts me right on the cusp of Gemini and Cancer (for those of you who believe in Astrology).
6. I am 184 centimetres tall (nearly 6’1”) and weigh about 73 kilos wringing wet (but don’t call me skinny).
7. One of my all-time favourite musical heroes is David Bowie. Others include Nick Cave, Jeff Buckley, Strummer/Jones (The Clash), Beck, PJ Harvey, Damon Albarn, Steve Malkamus (Pavement) and Lennon/McCartney, of course.
8. My favourite authors include Katherine Dunn, Jack Kerouac, Robert Heinlein, Jeanette Winterson, Stephen King, Frank Herbert, Alan Moore and Bill Bryson.
9. I love comics and have collected a few but can’t afford to be as rabid a collector as I would like because…
10. …I spend my hard-earned cash on recorded entertainment instead. I have an extensive collection that includes 700 CDs, lots of vinyl and a rapidly building DVD collection.
11. My wife and I also collect books. We currently have a few thousand but have no idea of the exact number. We also have a very large collection of Rolling Stone, Juice and Q magazines. Nah, music isn’t a passion of ours, no way…
12. Closet fan confession: my wife and I watch a lot of crime-television. We particularly like the CSI franchise.
13. I enjoy fishing and surfing but rarely find the time to do either.
14. I am not a fan of any code of football except for the ‘real’ football, as played in England. Go ManU…
15. I like sport but think competition and competitiveness are overrated.
16. I really enjoy skateboarding but am so old school I only watch these days.
17. I am a big Bruce Lee fan and would love to find the time to get back into martial arts in the future.
18. I can honestly say I don’t hate anyone or anything except brussel sprouts and these I hate with passion.
19. I spent nearly 10 years in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), first as a data processor then as a mainframe systems administrator. On my final posting, I had the pleasure of working with a combined force of Australian Defence Services, civilian and USAF personnel.
20. I am passionate about words, vernacular and language although I only speak English. I believe words are very powerful and I try to keep my language as positive as possible.
21. I consider myself very spiritual but don’t subscribe to any religion in particular. Lately I’ve been reading a lot about Zen Buddhism and Taoism.
22. My favourite television show of all time would have to be The Simpsons. My favourite character is probably Homer, although I do have a soft spot for Troy McClure and Nelson. I think other people would say I’m most like Ned Flanders (for his optimistic personality).
23. I really enjoy horror, fantasy and escapist movies such as Spiderman, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, the Alien franchise, Van Helsing, 28 Days, Dawn of the Dead, but my most favourite of these is Evil Dead 3 – Army of Darkness, starring the most under-rated actor of our times, Bruce Campbell.
24. My favourite periodical cartoon is Non Sequitur.
25. I am the eldest of 5 children all born between June 1963 and May 1969, which means my Mum pretty much spent the 60’s pregnant.
26. I am a smoker and a drinker, but both very moderate.
27. I used to be afraid of spiders but I cured myself of the fear. Next one to go will be my vertigo. I think the only way to do this is by jumping out of a perfectly good aircraft. Yikes…
28. My wife and I want to retire to the road i.e. buy a big-arse converted bus or something like that and become nomads or grey gypsies. Either that or a big old wooden yacht with an all-girl crew.
29. My favourite artists are Salvador Dali, Brett Whitley, Michael English and Sidney Nolan. I have lately also come to appreciate Jackson Pollock, although this only came after watching the wonderful biopic starring Ed Harris.
30. I went and saw my first ever live musical late last year, which was ‘We Will Rock You’, a stage play inspired by Queen’s music. I’m looking forward to seeing more.
31. I have a collection of elephants, ranging from a tiny silver elephant to a three-foot high, carved teak elephant. I tell my friends if they want to buy me a present and don’t know what to buy, then buy an elephant. One day, I’ll get a real one…
32. I don’t own a car.
33. I regularly catch public transport but prefer to walk if I’ve got the time.
34. I was born in a town called Mareeba, in far north Queensland. Mareeba used to be famous as a tobacco growing centre but these days is a centre for tourism.
35. I lived on Penang Island, Malaysia for three years as a child. I would love the opportunity to live in an Asian country again in my life.
36. I keep my wife laughing with bad puns, silly laughs and voices and by pulling faces. She keeps me laughing by laughing at me. We laugh a lot together and I recommend this to any couple having relationship problems. Laughter is the best tonic for renewing love.
37. I love word puzzles but can’t do cryptic crosswords to save my life. My wife, on the other hand, is a cryptic genius. Grrrr…
38. I’ve recently been told I am a baby-boomer but looking at the list of things a boomer is supposed to be and enjoy, I don’t fit the category at all. But then, I have always ignored categorisations as I find them banal and mostly incorrect.
39. I am allergic to cat hair and grass, but love taking my kitty out to play on the lawn at the back of our apartment block. It’s nothing antihistamines won’t fix…
40. When I was 15, I seriously considered becoming a Catholic priest. Then I discovered girls…
41. I have a very good recollection of a lot of songs; both words and music yet have problems recalling a piece of poetry or prose written by anyone else. This is particularly frustrating to the wannabe thespian in me.
42. Today is my favourite day (after the Tao of Pooh).
43. If I had the time, space and money, I’d love to build myself a hotrod – perhaps a 34 Ford Coupe, chopped, channelled and built for speed.
44. Except for living in Malaysia as a child, I’ve never travelled overseas but I’ve seen far more of Australia than most other Aussies.
45. I like to think of myself as a bit of a renaissance man. I know enough to build decent shelter, fix mechanical problems, dress a kill, find water in the desert, navigate by the stars and wash my own underwear.
46. My dream guitar would be a 1952 Fender Telecaster. I don’t care what colour just so long as it is playable. If not this, then a top of the line Maton semi-acoustic.
47. My dream car would be a mid-60’s Pontiac GTO or 1963 Chevrolet Impala SS.
48. One of my most favourite things to do (aside from the obvious erm… nocturnal activities) is climbing trees. I think I might be part simian.
49. I would love to have my own recording studio but use it to help disadvantaged young people by acting as a mentor/producer/instructor. This would be my dream job.
50. I am on the organ-donor program but the only thing they can’t have is my eyes.