Eight Things...

Chuck tagged me a few days ago for the Eight Things meme. Since I need to find some way to jumpstart my blog again, I’ll reveal some facts (uh, maybe more like trivia?) about myself. But first, here are the required rules:

Rules:

1. We have to post these rules before we give you the facts.

2. Players start with eight random facts/habits about themselves.

3. People who are tagged write their own blog post about their eight things and include these rules.

4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged and that they should read your blog.

The Eight:

1. I went to college hoping to become a journalist. I met Al Gore and heard folks like Gary Hart and Paul Simon speak, but left journalism because I wasn’t interested in “complicated” political issues. Instead, I became an English major but decided teaching wasn't for me, because I was too scared to speak in front of people. Yet, I’ve been teaching for four years, and in the fall I’m going to UMass-Amherst for a PhD in Communication, where I’ll probably focus on political filmmakers and socially-conscious films. Go figure.

2. I don’t remember my very first trip to the movies, but I remember that I absolutely adored Freaky Friday (1976).

3. Thanks to David Byrne Radio, I have been listening to a lot of Icelandic music lately. In particular, this includes Sigur Ros (of course), Gus Gus, Kate Havnevik (oops, she’s Norwegian), Benni Hemm Hemm, and Kimono.

4. I don’t care how brilliant people think it is, I just can’t stand The Piano.

5. Since I rarely find a film companion with a compatible level of film snobbery, I often prefer to go to the movies alone. If you think Tarantino is pretentious and Little Children was vastly overrated, then maybe I'll let you tag along.

6. While working at the customer service desk at a bank in Cambridge, I helped a customer with a problem. Foolishly, I did not know who he was. The very next day, I learned that this man was the director of A Brief History of Time, a film that was opening the Boston Film Festival. This is how I unwittingly met Errol Morris.

7. Growing up, my family visited the Atlantic Ocean every summer. The ocean is one of my favorite places; I don’t think I could ever live in a land-locked state.

8. Even though I am left-handed, I play guitar right-handed. I learned to pick out chords on tunes like Puff the Magic Dragon, Blowin’ in the Wind, and Knock Three Times (yes, the Tony Orlando and Dawn song).

Okay. Enough silliness. The folks I’m going to tag for this are mostly folks I follow on twitter, or those who left initial comments on my blog when it first went up. I don't know if folks will want to participate, but I'm just trying to follow the rules! So, the following bloggers are "it":
Karina, Agnes, Cynthia, Baratunde, Amit, Ted, kroosh, and Nick.