|
Music gets a page of its own. Photography has graduated from a hobby to a career. Gaming falls under Computing. Books Most of the books I read nowadays are in the category of science fiction (some prefer the term speculative fiction) or fantasy. My favorite author is Ursula K. Le Guin. Her stories are not only engaging reading but also explore lifestyle choices like bisexuality and polyamory that are too often ignored by other authors. My other favorite authors are Alfred Bester and Douglas Adams. Some books that I've greatly enjoyed by other authors include Watership Down by Richard Adams, The Fifth Sacred Thing by Starhawk, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert Heinlein, Ecotopia by Ernest Callenbach, and Your Money or Your Life (nonfiction) by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin. You can see most of my book collection at Goodreads. Theater I've always enjoyed musical theater, from both sides of the stage. My first full-length musical performance was in The Prince and the Pauper at age twelve (I was in the chorus and also played violin). I played piano for musical theater rehearsals and productions throughout high school and college, including Hair, Fiddler on the Roof, and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. The best production I ever participated in (as a pianist) was Cabaret at Northwestern University (~1990). My favorite musical is Sweeney Todd by Stephen Sondheim. I also enjoy The Sound of Music, The Fantastiks, Godspell, and many others. My husband Ziggy was a theater major and has worked as a stagehand for IATSE since the year 2000, including three years with the San Francisco Mime Troupe. The Mime Troupe performs progressive political musical theater, free in Bay Area parks every summer. Ziggy now works in the audio department of the San Francisco Opera, and as a result I'm beginning to learn about and appreciate that medium as well. A local performer I greatly enjoy watching is Josh Kornbluth, monologuist. In addition to touring the country performing his monologues, he has a book, Red Diaper Baby, containing his first three monologues, and two feature films, Haiku Tunnel and Red Diaper Baby. Ziggy was lucky enough to work with Josh during the 2002 Mime Troupe production, Mister Smith Goes to Obscuristan. Movies I'm not a big movie buff, but some of my favorites are Crimes and Misdemeanors, Amelie, Whale Rider, The Color Purple, Stop Making Sense, This Is Spinal Tap, and all films directed by Christopher Guest. Television I don't currently have cable TV or satellite as Ziggy and I both think that most television is garbage nowadays. However we do watch some TV via Netflix and Hulu. Older shows I like include Fawlty Towers, Are You Being Served, and Six Feet Under. |
Mime Troupe load-in, Washington Square Park, August 2004. |