Twenty-five random things about me

Terry was tagged to list twenty-five random things about himself the other day and in turn tagged a couple others. No one has tagged me, probably because no one knows about me or my blog, but I'm taking up the challenge anyway. A few of my random things may be familiar to you if you're one of the couple of people who read this blog:

1. I've written two screenplays.
   
2. My favorite actor is Cary Grant.
3. Contrary to what Terry said, Ingrid Bergman was the most beautiful of all the movie stars.
   
4. Though it's a crowded field, my favorite musician is Van Morrison. I can listen to his music at any time, in any mood, and never tire of it.
5. My favorite classical composer is Beethoven, by a nose over Bach, and half a length in front of Mozart.
   
6. I can't really name an all-time favorite author. There's a lot of good ones and I keep discovering more. I've already written about some of those who've influence me most.
   
7. I cook terrific hamburgers.
8. I used to be terrified of flying. Now I'm not.
9. Contrary to popular belief, I think the past ten years have been "The Golden Age" of television, not the 1950s or 60s. The Sopranos, The Wire, The Shield, Mad Men, Curb Your Enthusiasm, 24, Entourage, among others, are better entertainment than what was produced back in the day.
10. Having said that, I hate reality TV.
    
11. Like Terry, I can't dance. I have two left feet. My father, who could dance, gave me a quick lesson the day before I got married so I could get through the first dance with my wife at the reception. When I asked him how I did he shrugged and said, 'fair.' He was probably being kind.
12. I have an acute sense of smell, probably inherited from my mother. Any perfume, detergent, or room deodorizer gives me an instant headache. If you see a guy holding his breath while walking briskly through the ladies perfume section at the department store, that's probably me.
13. I've lived at my current residence for over twenty years. Before that, I'd never lived in a house for longer than a four year stretch.
    
14. I know a lot about music - rock and roll, standards, blues, jazz, classical - but I know next to nothing about music that's been produced over the past twenty years.
    
15. I love doing the Washington Post Sunday crossword puzzle. Usually, I can finish it.
    
16. I've never skied and I've never ice skated. And I've never had any desire to.
    
17. I love walking in any big city. I don't have to actually do anything, just walk around.
    
18. I'm fairly lazy. My wife would probably agree with that statement if I took out the qualifier 'fairly.'
19. Though I have a temper, I rarely lose it anymore. It's not worth it.
20. I become more libertarian the older I get. Leave me alone.
    
21. I saw Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band in concert twenty times back in the day. They remain the twenty best shows I've ever seen. But things change. I'll watch his Super Bowl appearance but I'm not excited about it. I don't even buy his records anymore. His songwriting ability has diminished over the years and I find most of what he does now dull and clunky.
    
22. It's been over a year since I had an alcoholic beverage. Or I should say, over a year since I finished an alcoholic beverage. I ordered a glass of wine at dinner during our NYC family reunion back in December, but after two sips I put it aside.
    
23. I've found the whole Rod Blagojevich episode highly entertaining. I'll miss him when he's gone. And I think he was just doing what politicians do, perhaps a bit more brazenly. That's no defense of Blago but rather an indictment of politicians in general. Most of them are little Blagos.
    
24. I truly don't know who I want to win the Super Bowl tomorrow. I suspect once the game starts I'll find out.
25. I guess I'm a pretty boring individual. Thinking up twenty-five random things about myself is some tough sledding.