Five questions

About a month ago I made up some questions to assist Donna with her daily blogging. Since it's getting late and I'm stumped for a topic, I thought it was only fair that I answer the questions I asked.

Beatles or Stones? Or are you the contrarian who picks The Who?

I like all of them, but without a doubt The Beatles have been more influential on my pop sensibilities and are better represented in my CD collection. I went through a phase in high school when I gobbled up any information I could about The Fab Four and their heyday. Mark Lewisohn's The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions: The Official Story of the Abbey Road Years 1962-1970 fascinated me with its tales of studio experimentation (recording, not chemical).

If you were one of the X-Men, what would your mutant power be?

I've never been a comic book guy. I liked the X-Men films. Yes, even the one Brett Ratner directed, although not as much as the others. I didn't mean for the question to be interpreted as asking which power among those in the X-Men would you like to have--I probably couldn't name very many of them--so I'll go with my original intent. My mutant power would be the ability to cut through metaphorical BS.

When did you discover your calling, and why do you think it is what it is? Or are you still looking?

Calling is such a big word. Who asked these questions? I think I knew from a fairly early age that I wanted to write, but pinning down when I realized that it was my calling is a lot harder to do. I starting writing DVD reviews online in 2000 and did so at an impressive rate despite not being paid a cent. I enjoyed doing it for the act itself. Isn't that integral in finding your calling? I might even say that the writing I've been doing on this blog has, in part, helped reveal that calling to me.

Why writing? I'm interested in sharing my thoughts and perspectives, something I discovered while doing radio and TV in college, and I'd like to think I have something worthwhile to say occasionally. I'm still hashing this all out--I can be kind of introspective if you haven't noticed--but if pressed, I think that writing is my calling because it is something I like to do and can be good enough at that it feels right. Not the strongest answer considering the question, but at the moment I don't feel like puzzling over it for a couple of hours.

What are people surprised to learn about you?

You mean aside from the knitting thing? That's a tough one. I bet that people who knew me through high school would be surprised to learn what I've become. Those who know me now probably wouldn't expect that I grew up in a small town where the family business was the grain elevator. What I do for a living is so far removed from that.

On what reality show would you like to be a contestant?

Truth be told, I doubt that I would be able to withstand being under the watchful eyes of cameras nonstop, but if I could, I'd love to be on The Amazing Race. The travel alone would make it worth the hassle, and it looks like great fun, which can't be said for most reality programs. My temperament is probably well-suited for the stress the show exerts on the contestants, but what do I know? Perhaps I would melt down in some cramped Asian marketplace and look like an ass to America.