OK, here goes.  Supporting docs: what is a meme http://www.bloggingbasics101.com/101/2006/10/what_is_a_meme.html

I got tagged by Wujimon: http://wujimon.com/2007/12/11/7-random-things/

And Martial development: http://www.martialdevelopment.com/blog/martial-development-author-fun-facts/

I have accepted the tagging and the rules are as follows:

  • link to the person who tagged you and post the rules on your blog.
  • share 7 random or weird things about yourself.
  • tag 7 random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs
  • let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

1.  Notable things going on in the American scene around the year I was born: The dawn of the Space Age;  the birth of the Interstate Highway System; early days of television; Elvis Presley; Marilyn Monroe; “Atlas shrugged” by Ayn Rand; James Dean.

2.  In High School I was a semifinalist in the prestigious National Merit Scholarship Competition, based upon sky-high scores in english and good marks in math.  But I was a lazy student in a mediocre school district during the “challenge authority!” era, and in a state of complete aimlessness I ended up dropping out of college after one weird year.

3.  Quasi-hippie/itinerant musician Taijiquestion (not my real name) worked at a variety of odd jobs thereafter, sometimes doing well, other times being let go for undistinguished performance.  Spurred by shame and the over-the-top philosophy of writer Ayn Rand, I turned myself around and landed a decent job at which I established a very solid record.

4.  A combination of dumb luck and personal qualities got me hired at a unique local publishing company, when my job at the lamp manufacturer was downsized.  Been with the publisher ever since (26 years!).

5.  My life has comprised a strange mix of healthy and unhealthy practices.  I smoked cigarettes for years solely due to peer pressure; blessedly I was only a social smoker and when I got married I just plain quit.  I have exercised quite steadily since my late teens, and included a certain amount of MA-style techniques even when I really knew almost nothing about Martial Arts.  (As opposed to the great deal I know now???)  Here’s a healthy snack I used to love, but have felt compelled to give up in middle age: cottage cheese and potato chips.  This salty/fatty delicacy can be enjoyed two ways: use the cheese as a “dip” for the chips; or crunch up a ton of the chips into the creamy cottage cheese.

6.  Once I made an especially pointless and gratuitous comment to a taiji blog that I really enjoy and the author responded kindly that maybe I needed a life beyond taiji mania.  I cockily replied that there was little need to worry about that!  Then a few weeks later I saw a recent photo that my wife had taken of me.  I was turning away from the computer screen for a moment to be photographed.  And what was holding my attention that day, instead of my lovely wife and wonderful child, and housework and bills and taiji practice?  There on the screen behind me, clearly visible was the distinctive blog theme of the blogger who had tried to wake me up a bit.

7.  There’s little doubt that my martial arts interest stems from one touchstone: the old “Kung Fu” TV show starring David Carradine (who beat out Bruce Lee for the role, in a strange twist of fate).  My youth was filled with “Kung Fu”, “Star Trek”, “It Takes a Thief” (actor Robert Wagner’s finest hour) and so forth; plus tons, or maybe megatons, of science fiction reading.  This fantasy-heavy diet shaped my mentality in various ways, not all of which were fruitful.

Well, enough about me.  I now tag these folks, who may or may not wish to respond:

 The Life-Giving Sword http://lifegivingsword.wordpress.com/

Garden Ninja http://gardenninja.wordpress.com/

Monkey Learns To Push http://www.poagao.org/taiji/tjournal.htm

Dynamic Balancing Tai Chi http://dynamicbalancingtaichi.blogspot.com/

Kenton Whitman http://kentonwhitman.com/

Lao Shr http://laoshr.blogspot.com/

The Walk of 10,000 Steps http://tenthousandsteps.blogspot.com/