"Meme Me Up"

I've been tagged for the Eight Random Things Meme by Bev at Asperger Square 8.

The rules:
1. Let others know who tagged you.
2. Players start with 8 random facts about themselves.
3. Those who are tagged should post these rules and their 8 random facts.
4. Players should tag 8 other people and notify them they have been tagged.

Before we begin, I must share this: I read Bev's post in which she tagged me, then told my wife about it and explained that I must share 8 random or unusual things about myself. Her response required no forethought: "For you, that should be easy."

So here we go:

1) I am socially, politically, and economically conservative. If there are any of you whose initial reaction is that this seems at odds with my feelings about autistic rights and providing proper supports to people with all types of disabilities, then your understanding of conservativism does not agree with mine.

2) I am a die-hard aficionado of historical fiction. My personal favorite authors of this genre are (not necessarily in this order): Gary Jennings, Jack Whyte, Mark Helprin, and Neal Stephenson. I find that presenting history in this format somehow shortens the years between then and now, and makes otherwise distant occurrences seem much more real and relevant.

3) The CD changer in my car has the following music in it at this exact moment: Rage Against the Machine, Beck, the soundtrack from The Mission, Arctic Monkeys, Flogging Molly, and Outkast. Needless to say, I have very strange taste in music.

4) Back in college, a friend and I spent over 4 hours trying to construct our very own palindromic sentence. I would love to place the sentence here, but we never did figure one out.

5) Back in 1994, I lived with a Ferret named Freda. Ferrets are somewhat discomforting to live with, in that they constantly stare at you and you just know they are thinking, "If I were any bigger than I actually am, I would eat you right now."

6) In my life B.K. (Before Kids), I used to be quite the home cook. This was before there were whole television channels about how to be a home cook. One memorable recipe went like this: Pound flat some chicken breasts. Place a combination of diced Papaya and Prosciutto on chicken, then roll up. Dredge chicken breasts in a mixture of flour, curry powder, and coconut flakes. Saute chicken in butter. Remove chicken, add to saute pan shallots and saute until soft. Add light cream, and lime juice. Serve sauce over chicken. Yummy.

7) A few years ago I figured out the Meaning of Life. But I forgot to write it down.

8) I refuse to use Spellcheck on principle. I lament the ongoing degradation of general language and writing skills in the modern world, and this is my little way of rebelling on a daily basis.

So, having spilled the paint that is my quirky self onto the canvass that is the internet, I feel as if a Jackson Pollock-like result has decidedly not been the result. And now I must move on to tagging 8 more victims.

There are two bloggers I really like who are not part of the Hub. I would like to learn more about them them, and this meme is a great way to do so. Therefore, VAB at Autista and Alyric at A Touch of Alyricism are tagged..

There are several folks who I read regularly, but would love to know more about and to hear their 8 things. They are: Andrea, Amanda, and Joel.

I have always appreciated the "science contributors" on the Hub, and am therefore tagging Dad of Cameron, and Kev.

Last, but most certainly not least, is someone who has not been very active on his blog anytime recently. Perhaps this meme will temporarily drag him out of hibernation. Hello, Not Mercury.