Monday, December 10, 2007

Behind the Eight Ball

The Pieces of Eight Meme



I was tagged by both William and Talmida for the "Pieces of Eight" meme

"The assignment: To write about certain topics in blocks of 8."



8 passions in my life:

My faith
My wife
My kids
Reading history
Blues
Film
Football
Art

8 things to do before I die:

Make sure all of my children are brought up in faith, attend college, and outlive me. All the rest is gravy…
Learn how to manage my finances (so at least somebody’ll get something)
Ride a horse
Learn to play a musical instrument
Work full-time for a charity or a non-profit
Write a book about something
Visit the Grand Canyon
Visit Paris

8 things I often say

Rats! (that is, when I can restrain myself from saying “For ___’s sake!”)
If I wait until the last minute to do it, it will only take me a minute to do it.
A winner never quits and a quitter never wins, but someone who never quits and never wins is an idiot.
Do your homework!
Pick up your room!
Brush your teeth!
No one ever listens to me!
I love you!

8 books I read recently

Joe Bageant - Deer Hunting with Jesus: Dispatches from America's Class War
Chris Hedges – War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning
Jack Beatty - Age of Betrayal: The Triumph of Money in America, 1865-1900
Sam Harris - Letter to a Christian Nation
Amy Jill-Levine - Jesus The Misunderstood Jew
Henri Nouwen - Peacework
Henri Nouwen - The Selfless Way of Christ: Downward Mobility and the Spiritual Life
Jon Sobrino – Jesus the Liberator

8 films that mean something to me

(Kind of like the songs listed further down below, not necessarily what I consider the best, or even my favorites, but have meant something to me for one reason or another)

El Amor Brujo
The Gods Must be Crazy
Romero
A Fish Called Wanda
To Kill A Mockingbird
Cal
The Haunting (1963 version)
West Side Story

8 songs that mean something to me

The Marshall Tucker Band - Can’t You See?
The Beatles - Another Girl
The Beatles - You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away
The Saw Doctors - I Useta Love Her
John Waite - Missing You
Dire Straits - You’re So Far Away From Me
John Lee Hooker - You Ain’t No Big Thing
The Allman Brothers - Whipping Post

(Can you tell I’ve had a heartbreak or two? What else are most songs supposed to be about?)

8 living people I'd like to have as dinner guests

(Do they all have to be there at the same time? There might be a food fight. Or worse… Better not have any sharp utensils present. Maybe we’ll go to a rib joint…)

I’d like to have all of my regular guests here on the blog. You know who you are. But if I can’t have that…

Pope Benedict
Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini
John Dominic Crossan
B.B. King
Hines Ward
Billy Crystal
Lewis Black
Isabelle Adjani (and it’s OK if she brings Daniel Day-Lewis with her. If she can’t make it, Sophie Marceau could fill in, but not if she brings Christopher Lambert with her)

Consider it open tag season...

11 comments:

crystal said...

You've never ridden a horse? That and visiting Paris are the only things I've done that you haven't.

Is Sophie Marceau the one who was in Braveheart? Pretty.

Pope Benedict, Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, and John Dominic Crossan ... sit back and watch the fur fly :-)

Jeff said...

Crystal,

Nope. Never ridden a horse. A "burro" doesn't count.

Yes, Sophie Marceau was in Braveheart. She was the French princess.

Pope Benedict, Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, and John Dominic Crossan ... sit back and watch the fur fly :-)

That'd be quite the discussion, eh? :-D Especially if Lewis Black decides to get into it.

crystal said...

Who is Lewis Black?

Aalso like Another Girl. I still know all the words - Paul holding a girl instead of a guitar :-)

Garpu said...

YOu listen to the Saw Doctors, too? Like 'em a lot. A friend of a friend did sound for them once, and said they were a bunch of wankers, though.

Jeff said...

Crystal,

Lewis Black is a stand-up comic. he does mostly political stuff.

I also like Another Girl. I still know all the words - Paul holding a girl instead of a guitar

Oh yeah, that sequence they shot down in Nassau. I think Patti Boyd was in that video briefly.

I saw Help in the movie theater when I was a kid. I was with my older brother and some cousins. We sat though it twice. That was back in the days when you could do that.

Garpu,

Yes, I like the Saw Docs. Sorry to hear that the sound man you know didn't think much of them. Did they have a beef over money or something?

Talmida said...

Sophie Marceau (Braveheart) is a couple with Lambert?!?! HIGHLANDER Lambert?!?!

BWAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAH.... talk about the ridiculous and the sublime!

Garpu said...

I guess they were just super demanding. but, eh, it's their show, you know?

crystal said...

Talmida,

Lambert = rediculous? What do you mena? What are you trying to say? I did think he was kind of interesting in that first Highlander movie :-)

Jeff said...

Garpu,

The Saw Doctors were extra-temperamental about their sound? Wow. Who do they think they are, the London Philharmonic? Well, maybe they need all the help that they can get with that. :-)

Crystal and Talmida,

Don’t ask me, don’t ask me what Sophie Marceau is doing with that Christopher Lambert... What a shame... Maybe she picked up a thing for men in kilts while filming Braveheart. In that case she’d do better hanging out with Liam Neeson.

She’s a pretty good actress and a writer… but I’d say that the only actor in the world who’s worse than Christopher Lambert is Keanu Reeves, but at least Keanu is kind of funny when he plays a character like himself.

cowboyangel said...

Jeff, My apologies. I basically tagged you for this meme, then ran out of the room. End of the semester. Pretty crazy.

La Reina has never ridden a horse either. We were just talking a few days ago about crossing that one off HER list. I love horses.

When I was a kid, one of the cinemas actually showed Hard Day's night, Help, Yellow submarine and Let It Be all in a row. I sat through it all gladly. though Hard Day's night is considered the better film (by far), I've always liked Help more. Saw it again a year or so ago and still loved it. Reminds me of Monty Python.

Nice list of passions. I forgot my wife. I better go back and change that before she reads my blog! Luckily, she's been too busy lately. I still have a chance to save my butt.

But, really, she is one of my great passions.

Weird. I had never heard of the Saw Doctors until yesterday or the day before. then, suddenly, here they are again on your list.

Billy Crystal?

Interesting. You know, People are always saying to me: "Has anyone ever told you that you look like Billy Crystal?" I got so sick of it, I started saying, "No, they usually tell me I look like George Clooney." That seems to confuse thm. But has anyone seen Billy Crystal lately? I don't look that old!!!!

Jeff said...

William,

You said that one of your passions was luvin'. Well, you better have been talking about La Reina!

Yes! I saw Billy Crystal recently on PBS, receiving the Mark Twain Award. He's looking almost as ancient as Miracle Max (in 'The Princess Bride').