Music
It's really easier to list the music I don't like (shorter list, pretty much limited to hip-hop, R&B, and country...blah!!!), but I do have a particular preference for now-obscure 80s metal (pretty much everyone from King's X to Testament).
Movies
My top ten favorite movies encompass a pretty wide range, but most of them are action films. Beyond my top ten, I have this unique talent to retain any and every piece of information or trivia that anyone could possibly know about movies...don't ask me why, because I have no idea!
In no particular order:
1. Star Wars - The ENTIRE series (I think Revenge of the Sith is my favorite).
2. Transformers - I'm a huge Michael Bay fan, but after "Pearl Harbor" and "The Island," I'd lost faith in him...until Transformers came along.
3. Down Periscope (the 1996 Kelsey Grammer film) - I served in the United States Navy, and in terms of the characters and their personalities, this has to be the most accurate Navy film ever released.
4. The American President (1995, Michael Douglas/Annette Bening) - I don't know why, but this is one movie I can watch again and again.
5. Serenity/Firefly - I included the Firefly TV series because Serenity should've been season 2 if FOX hadn't f*cked Joss Whedon and the cast by cancelling what has to be one of the most creative and fun series ever.
6. Raiders of the Lost Ark - Pure movie magic. I'll throw in the rest of the Indiana Jones series, but of three (soon to be four, can't wait) Raiders is my favorite.
7. The Big Lebowski - Probably one of the funniest black comedies ever. The Coen Brothers strike gold every time, but this, to me, is one of their better ones.
8. Hallowe'en - The original 1978 John Carpenter film and 1981's Hallowe'en 2. Hallowe'en 3 sucked and should never have been given the name "Hallowe'en", and after 3 (when the series actually went back to the Michael Myers story), the films were ok, but never quite recaptured the terror of 1 and 2.
9. Highlander - With the exception of "Highlander 2: The Quickening, which cast and crew alike say should never have been made, I love the entire series...including the Adrian Paul TV series. "H3: The Final Dimension" was my favorite (Mario Van Peebles' "Kane" was a SICK villain), and Endgame was a great way to tie the film and TV series together.
10. Apollo 13 - Only Ron Howard could take a story that the whole world already knows the outcome of and make it one of the most suspenseful and exciting films ever. Plus, any film that has his brother Clint Howard has to be good (even Barb Wire, just for Clint's role).
Idols
My daughter Ceilidh (pronounced Kay-Lee, it's Gaelic for "celebration"). She was stillborn on December 9, 2006, some five days after she died. Although she never took a breath in this world, she's a hero, and her impact is felt far and wide.
When my wife and I were researching the genetic disorder that ultimately killed our daughter, we discovered the non-profit organization "Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep," a network of working professional photographers dedicated to providing bereavement photography to grieving parents who have lost, or expect to lose, a baby in utero, at birth, or shortly thereafter. They do this all free of charge, and the photos and DVD slideshow are all heirloom quality.
Nobody at the hospital (Women and Infants' in Providence RI) had EVER heard of this organization, so when we brought one of their photographers in to do a photo shoot with our daughter the day she was born, the photographer gave the Maternity Ward staff some information about "Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep."
Eleven months later, in November 2007, my wife and I attended an annual "Night of Remembrance" at Women and Infants, hosted by the local infant death/stillbirth support group specifically in memory of babies who died AT the hospital. After the formal remarks, during the social portion of the night when parents get to meet & greet each other, the hospital chaplain pulled us aside to tell us about our daughter's gift to other bereaved families. Because of her, the hospital now tasks a full-time staff member with the responsibility of acting as liaison between "Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep" and grieving parents whose children die at Women and Infants.
If only one family a week suffers the loss of an infant at Women and Infants Hospital, that's 52 families a year for whom my daughter's gift of herself brings just a little bit of healing. You're my hero, Ceilidh, and mommy & I miss you terribly.
