"Get To Know Me!" Monday

Blogs need gimics... and Monday is a boring day where most people are looking for a distraction from work.  I know there are tons of you readers out there just clamoring for more details about who this Mike guy is anyway.

In order to satisfy this market need, I have created "Get to Know Me!" Monday! (with my trademark double exclamation points).  Every Monday until you all know me perfectly (or, more likely, when I get bored with this concept), I will post something about me.  It may be just be some details about my life.  It may be things that I like.  It may be a hodge-podge of stuff that I threw onto the page and then sent off to the ether of the internet.  Whatever!  It's a gimick!

For today's Get to Know Me! Monday! I'm going to randomly list off my "favorite" out of various categories... generally different kinds of media.  It's pretty self-explanator, so here we go.

Favorite Movie: "The Princess Bride" - if you don't at least like this movie, I don't think we can be friends.

Favorite Band: This used to be The Dave Matthews Band... but now I'm not really sure.  Maybe Rush?

Favorite Food: Pizza!  It's got all four food groups.  It has to be healthy, right?

Favorite Beverage (that everyone can enjoy):  It definitely used to be Dr. Pepper, then it was Coke, then it was Dr. Pepper again, but now that I'm a grown up, I think it's Iced Tea (unsweetened).  Lame, I know.

Favorite (Adult) Beverage: Another one that has evolved.  First, it was a Gin and Tonic, then it was a Whiskey and Soda, but recently I'm really learned to appreciate red wine and Margaritas.  (I just realized that I'm basically a mid-40s divorcee... creepy)

Favorite Current TV Show: I almost never get to watch TV, so I'm probably missing a bunch of great stuff.  But, my favorite right now is "Mad Men."  I also really like "How I Met Your Mother."

Favorite TV Show of All Time: "Cheers" and "The Simpsons" (tie), with "Seinfeld" a close second (third, I guess), and "I Love Lucy" a very close fourth.

Favorite Book - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.  Close second is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.  Close third is a tie for every other Harry Potter book.  (I really like Harry Potter).

Favorite Non-Potter Book - Probably "The Hobbit," although I have really been digging the Song of Ice and Fire Series by George R.R. Martin, so "A Game of Thrones" would be up there.  Other honorable mentions include several Stephen King books (particularly "The Dark Tower" series and "The Stand,"), and The "Lord of the Rings" Trilogy (particularly "Return of the King").

Favorite Non-Fiction Book - "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote (which is probably the best written book I've ever read).  I also really like "Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln" by Doris Kearns Goodwin.

Favorite McDonald's Shake - Shamrock.

Favorite Race Distance - right now, the 10 mile.  But I had such a good race at Disney, that the Half Marathon is #2 with a bullet.

Favorite of My Children - you don't think I'm stupid enough to answer that, do you?  Also, both of my children are a tie for my favorite.

Favorite Fictional Character - Homer Simpson.  Hands down.

Favorite Homer Quote

• "In this house we obey the LAWS OF THERMODYNAMICS!" and
• "Maybe, just once, someone will call me 'Sir' without adding, 'You're making a scene.'" and 
• "The trick is to say you're prejudiced against all race." (on getting out of jury duty), and 
• Homer: "No beer and no TV make Homer something something" Marge: "Go crazy?" Homer: "Don't mind if I DO!" and 
• (praying to God) "In gratitude, I present you this offering of cookies and milk.  If you want me to eat them for you, give me no sign" (short pause) "Thy will be done" (eats cookies)
• (talking about God) "The lesson is: Our God is vengeful!" (to God) "O spiteful one, show me who to smite, and they shall be smoten!!!" and 
• "And how is education supposed to make me feel smarter? Besides, every time I learn something new, it pushes some old stuff out of my brain. Remember when I took that home winemaking course, and I forgot how to drive?" and
• "If you really want something in this life, you have to work for it --Now quiet, they're about to announce the lottery numbers!"

That's it for now... I hope you all feel better having gotten to know me better.  Until next week.