The quality of a particular artist is more important than genre. I confess to being susceptible to pop hooks, which pretty much eliminates any claim I might have to being a music snob. I must say that some time around 1997 I almost completely stopped following new artists. I think I'm singlehandedly responsible for the downturn in CD sales, since I'm probably buying as many in a year as I used to buy in a week.

My favorite genre/style is film noir, but I like most kinds of movies. I usually care more about the quality of the writing and acting than anything else; that is, whether it succeeds on its own terms. Of course, there are also the "Bad Movies We Love" where the aspiration is vastly higher than the reality.

Some of my all time favorites, in no particular order:

All About Eve
Some Like It Hot
Gilda
The Women
Vertigo
Rear Window
Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Moulin Rouge!
Chicago
Fargo
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Beauty and the Beast
The Lion King
(more to come)

I don't get to read as much as I used to. Much of it is now done as audiobooks while I'm walking or driving.

Things I enjoy doing in my minimal free time include driving two-lane highways, listening to music, going to movies, watching TV or DVDs with my sweetie, surfing the web, and going to Disneyland.

I am a San Francisco native, red-bearded blond, incorrigible smart-aleck, professional volunteer, unapologetic f*gg*t, academic refugee, self-taught geek, incurable romantic, compulsive hugger, secular humanist, and loyal friend.

I've been happily partnered to SteveBear since 1994. Aside from my "real" job, I'm currently Vice President of Bears of San Francisco. I'm a founding member and was heavily involved as Secretary from 1995 to 2001 and co-chair of International Bear Rendezvous (BOSF's principal annual fundraising event) in 1999, 2000, and 2001.

I'm here to meet new friends and stay connected with current ones.

I won't be blogging here since I already do it at LiveJournal.

By the way, "fogbear" derives from the fact that I grew up (and still live) in a particularly foggy section of San Francisco.