Mark Safranski of Zenpundit has cursed tagged me with this. This is the second time I’ve been tagged with it so this is for you, too, Jody.
8. I have blue eyes. Very pretty, too, I’m told.
7. I’m the best cook I know. Once I’ve tasted nearly any dish I can re-create it (usually better).
6. I can sight sing in doh clef.
5. I prefer pie to cake.
4. I was an altar boy. I can still say the responses in Latin.
3. I used to be an antique dealer (a hobby that made a little money).
2. I was in my college marching band for 6 years.
1. I’m an expert white water canoeist.
I gather that I’m supposed to afflict tag eight other people. Here are my tags, none of whom I expect to respond:
Marc Schulman
Callimachus
John Burgess
Joe Gandelman
Jeff Medcalf
Amba
Dymphna
Non Partisan Pundit
8. I have blue eyes. One of them is wonky, with amblyopia.
7. I’m a very good cook, though not the best I know. Having eaten my way around the world, I’m comfortable with a lot of different cuisines. I learned to cook in self-defense. My mother was not a good cook, though there were legitimate reasons for that.
6. I can sight read in the bass, tenor, and treble clefs, mostly for instruments, but also singing. My singing talents are shot, though, as a side-effect of surgery in Syria.
5. I prefer pie to cake.
4. I was an altar boy and a junior seminarian.
3. I used to be an editor for ‘counter-cultural’ papers and a professional photographer. Oh, and a diplomat.
2. I play all woodwinds excepting the flute. I can also do trumpet, french horn, double bass, and sitar. I’m working on Irish pipes.
1. I fish fresh and salt water. My biggest fish have been a 6-lb largemouth bass and a 60-lb wahoo.
That sounds scary!
8. I have hazel eyes
7. I was adopted.
6. I prefer pie and cake (with some ice cream too!)
5. Few can make a better cheesecake than me.
4. I’ve been a snare and bass drummer in Irish and Scottish bagpipe bands, though not for a couple of years now.
3. I used to be moderately fluent in Russian.
2. I still love to play video games, even though I’m in my late 30’s.
1. I’m a hiking and camping superfreak.
I used to be able to sing between bass and high tenor. After medical care pre- and post-op tore the hell out of my vocal cords, my voice has changed timbre entirely. It’s pitched much higher and not nearly as controllable as it once was. So farewell to barbershop quartets, farewell to the choirs and choruses.
Luckily, I’m going deaf, so I won’t notice it as much. Too bad for those around me!