Paul told me I had to come up with a photo for my bio section of the web site and he told me it should require a minimum of Photoshop time, so here it is. He also wouldn't let me substitute a picture of Richard Karn.

Is this the bio portion of our show? Shouldn't a nerdy dude in a bad suit be here with a book and share embarassing episodes from my past? Is my third grade teacher behind a curtain somewhere? Ok, ok. The life history in brief. I grew up in the exciting city of Terre Haute, Indiana. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this burg it is more than the home of Buffy, Jody, and Cissy - it is also the site of a fabulous fertilizer plant! Needless to say I left at 17 to go to school. I went to Indiana University in Bloomington, IN. There, I lost my innocence in wild parties and received a Degree in Russian and a Certificate in Soviet & Eastern European Studies. I am not sure but the first may have led to the second.

Finding myself facing either a future of university politics and striving for tenure or sitting in front of a tape recorder and transcribing conversations in russian for the National Security Administration (if we ever meet remind me to tell you about my KGB dreams) I did the next best thing, I got a degree in Marketing! Finding myself only marginally more employable I started my reasonably successful career in retail management. Thanks to working for a couple of fairly good companies I have had the opportunity to move a lot and live in some cool places. After moving from Bloomngton to Indianapolis to Chicago to Houston and back to Indy, I thought I was pretty settled but then low and behold I met this cute, pretty terrific guy. He must have been pretty terrific because I actually moved to Detroit to be with him.

Not since I moved to Chicago has my paranoid, naturally worry-prone father been in such a panic. DETROIT? You're moving to DETROIT? (This man never leaves Terre Haute, you have to understand.) Well, luckily, when visitng Chicago, Paul fell in love with it and I managed to convince him to move to Chicago... and so here we are... Oh, sorry I've been droning on did you have something to ask me?

• Hmm, I have to limit it to one? I am a Bear after all and it takes work to develop this physique. Okay, I suppose any of several varities of Chicago style stuffed pizza, the flavours can vary depending on my changing moods but it would have to be pizza.

• Like, Would your name be Bambi by any chance? Sorry. What is my favorite group and/or artist? Toughie. Okay, well being a music buyer my tastes really do vary a great deal so I really do have a lot of musical interests. But, I guess if you really force me I would have to say REM (before Monster). They're still my favorite group but they have to work at it now.

• Taller. I would definitely be taller. Being 5 foot 8 & 3/4 inches is a pain. Everyone in the world has a 30 inch inseam and size 10 & 1/2 shoes. They are always sold out of your shoe size because it is so popular and they never have your waist and inseam in stock. Also the sleeves on your dress shirts are always too long. And yet somehow despite everyone having a 30 inch inseam and size 10 & 1/2 shoes - they are all still taller than you! How about Tiffany? You strike me as a Tiffany.

• Oh jeez, I hate these "you can only take one" questions. So I am going to cheat. I would take Bach's Brandenburg Concertos, 2 cd set. Academy of Ancient Music, Christopher Hogwood conducting. Polygram Germany 414187. I would also slip REM Eponymous into the jewel box when no one was looking. Piece of art, hmm. Well, you didn't limit me to a painting so... Michaelangelo's Pieta. And as for the book (I am really cheating here), since they are all really one big story, J.R.R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion, The Hobit and The Lord Of The Rings and since I am already cheating, The Altas of Middle Earth.

• Albert Einstein. Easily one of the most brilliant men who ever lived as well as an incredible humanitarian. Even if he couldn't really accept Quantum physics. Could your name be Amber?

• No, I have it down pat so I don't have to practice anymore. Kidding. Yes. I am sort of a Zen Catholic if you will. I see a lot of wisdom in a lot of things though and kind of look at it like a smoargasboard. Although basically Catholic or maybe Episcopalian (Catholic lite - all the smells and bells, half the guilt!) I still get a great deal from Taoism, Buddhism, and even (GASP) Wicca (is that legal, can I do that?)

• Red, no blue - aaaaagggggghhhhhhh!

• Living or dead? Real or fictional? Ok, two cats named Simon & Garfunkel. I am your basic doting overindulgent father. They are so spoiled. The best of everything, soft beds, tasty nibbles, catnip every holiday. And are they grateful? Do they call on holidays? Do they send me to Miami... Sorry I seem to be channeling.

• I am a Virgo... you know... the virgin...

• I assume you mean the ones we can talk about in polite conversation. I read a lot. Before I was a music buyer I used to manage bookstores so you can imagine that we not only have cds stacked everywhere (I think we just filled the new huge cd storage cabinets we bought). I also have my own personal memorial library. I read a great deal of science and science fiction and fantasy. I also read a decent amount of current events/social sciences. And of course music is a huge interest - pop, dance, alternative (you can define it however you want), jazz, new age, classical, and some country,

• I am not sure if you mean outside as in outdoors or what but that is how I will take it. We try to go camping at least once a year. We also own some really nice dust collectors, er, I mean bikes that we bought last year.

• Oh my. Do I go for quality or sheer indulgence? I may end up with more so I will do two lists. The top 5 quality and top 5 indulgent movies. Some may argue that the two can be the same but these are the ones I choose 'cause it's my party.
  Quality
  1. The Lion In Winter - Peter O'Toole & Katherine Hepburn.
  2. Casablanca - I still get goosebumps.
  3. The Big Sleep - I like the Maltese Falcon too, but I tend to watch this more.
  4. Long Day's Journey Into Night - incredibly powerful version of Eugene O'Neil's semi-autobiographical play of a really dysfunctional family.
  5. 2001: A Space Odyssey - Possibly the first truly adult science fiction film.
  Indulgent (this list is actually harder - I could choose a lot more!)
  1. The Women - well, I am a gay man after all.
  2. What's Up Doc - Barbara does screwball comedy in the tradition of Hepburn and Lombard.
  3. Steel Magnolias - for the one-liners, of course.
  4. The 7 Faces of Dr. Lao - good escapist fantasy and Barbara Eden as a brunette.
  5. Much Ado About Nothing - Kenneth Branaugh's Beard Fest (not to mention Emma Thompson who is just hands-down terrific).

• Let's go for quality of acting with this one rather than other criteria. I already mentioned Emma Thompson. Katherine Hepburn. Sir John Gielgud. Anthony Hopkins. I just limited myself to those.

• Kind of embarassing after just giving such a lofty listing of actors but its was Independence Day. Look, the effects made it worthy of being seen in a theatre, okay?

• I am currently in a long sci-fi/fantasy fluff period so it has mostly been that kind of stuff. I just finished re-reading Roger Zelazny's Amber series.

• You have got to be kidding - everyone knows that, right? The nature of the universe and why we exist? To provide philosophers and religious leaders with jobs!

• It's been a real pleasure, Amber, and I hope to run into you at the mall sometime. Also feel free to contact me at my email address for further questions or discussion!

• Thank you.