funny you should ask...

i have been working on my 'brain map', (actually, I call it a "brain knot") for a couple of weeks. it is far from complete, but it's a good start. (see file attached)

the end of the line (boxes in black) are the deliverables, or completed projects. i only included a single example of each deliverable, but for some there are hundreds, especially in the music composition arena.

i haven't included my hobbies, so here are some... kite flying, good german beer, single malt scotch, excellent pipe tobacco, chess, checkers, pool, fishing, kyacking and canoeing, biking, scrabble (words with friends-if any of you want to take me on!), driving (fast in my old BMW-it's gone now), driving (off road in my Ford Expedition in the mountains), camping, building fires, grilling, burning things and blowing things up (fireworks), shooting my .22 plinker (ruger), organizing EVERYTHING in little boxes to the nth degree, Cheezitz (I once offered to be the Cheezitz test taster for Kelloggs, but all they did was send me a free box), thrift shop/yard sale buys (good buys lately- LG phone car charger, expensive binders (for 1 dollar), carry bags (tourister, etc), scotch glasses) water colors, acrylics on canvas, pencil sketching, xcel spreadsheet creation, selling junk for money and then buying beer with the killings, 'Yes' progressive rock, electronica, wood carving, designing and building things made of wood, hand made business cards, greeting cards, signage, displays, writing, studying theology, mariology, angelology and putting it to good use, developing corporate brands, products, services, hardware and software, developing apps and delivery mechanisms, time pieces, photography (canon elf), and more.

Chonak

Lots of Progressive groups. Yes is best.

Bokuwa ongakuka dentaku katateni

Philothea,

I think we should be friends.

And it'd be wierd (around here, anyway) to see the organist dressed in camo on Sunday mornings.

Salieri -- when I was a cadet at West Point and accompanied the cadet Catholic choir, there were Sundays I had to show up in BDUs and play the organ in combat boots.

(This is the organ in the little Catholic chapel, mind you -- not the cockpit console of the big Cadet Chapel.)

-trying to imitate Ralph Stanley (in fact, trying to sing the SEP a la Ralph Stanley...)

That's not a hobby, there's a foot note in the American edition of the GIRM allowing the cantillation by a soloist in the, and I quote, "High Lonesome."

Shadow Puppets

Interpretive dance to Michael Joncas

You have to realize that not all of these interests have persisted throughout my 73 years. I'm sure I've forgotten several items. Of course, one has to start with food (I cook extensively and love to eat).

Baking bread
  St. Croix sourdough (white, rye)
  Rye (onion-dill, Jewish seeded, marble, pumpernickle, buttermilk)
  White (baguette, boule, buttermilk loaf, Cuban round loaf, Italian, etc.)
Pickling
  Cucumbers (dill, garlic, mustard, bucket, etc.)
  Peppers (sweet, mild, hot)
  Other veggies (eg. eggplant, carrot, cauliflower)
  Relishes and sauces
Smoking meats and sausage making
  Polska kielbasa, Ukrainiski kowbassa
  Krakowska, Kabanosy, Bratwurst
  Baby back ribs, Pork loin
  Poultry
Dining (Mexican, Chinese, Italian, Indian, among others)
  Jucy Lucy (Matt's Bar & Grill, Minneapolis)
  Blackened walleye pike (Seasons Tavern, Hudson)
  Zarape (Azul Tequila, Hudson)
  Chiles relleno (my go-to favorite test of Mexican restaurant)
  Mongolian grill (B.C. Mongolian, Stillwater)
  Pasta e fagioli (Yarusso's, St. Paul)
Home cooking favorites
  Blue Lucy (blue cheese Jucy Lucy) burgers
  Bratwurst with grilled peppers and onions on a brat bun
  Fajitas, Soft tacos, Quesadillas
  Pasta dishes galore
  Buttermilk oatmeal pancakes
  Chinese & Stir fry (Hunan, Szechuan, Mongolian)
  Meat loaf
  Vareniki/Pierogi
  Kholubtsi/Golembki
  Pork chops or roast cooked with wild rice
  Bavarian or Polish style sausage & kraut
  Chili (several varieties from home cooking to chili cook-off competitions)
  Stuffed peppers
  Barbeque baby back ribs (smoked or not)
  Indian food (including Rogan Josh, Kholapuri Lamb/Mutton, Kadai Gosht, Murgh Makhni, Jhinga Masala, Pork/Chicken/Duck Vindaloo, Palaak Paneer, Dum Gobi, Sookhe Aloo, Baingan Bartha, Jhinga Samosas, Chole, Chappati, Puri)

Reading (mystery/espionage, science fiction, fantasy, historical and other novels, poetry, religion, music, mathematics)

Children's/Youth/Young adult literature and fantasy (thanks in part to my children): Lord of the Rings (Tolkien), Chronicles of Narnia & the Perelandra Trilogy (Lewis), Harry Potter, The Host (much better than the Twilight series), Redwall series (Jacques), Inkheart series (Funke), His Dark Materias (Pullman), Star Wars novels

Dyeing Ukrainian Easter Eggs (Pysanky)

Playing cards (bridge, euchre, cribbage, oh heck)
Chess, Go, Sudoku, Crossword puzzles

Packers and Redskins football
Cardinals and Twins baseball
Lynx basketball
Soccer (youth to World Cup)

Composing/arranging/editing, singing, choral music, early music, oboe & English horn, flute & piccolo, CPDL, Zephyrus, Phipps Festival Chorus & Oratorio Society, River City Chorale

8 children, including 4 daughters-in-law and soon to be 2 sons-in-law
11 grandchildren
Two longhair miniature Dachshunds
And especially, my dear wife

Baking bread
St. Croix sourdough (white, rye)
Rye (onion-dill, Jewish seeded, marble, pumpernickle, buttermilk)
White (baguette, boule, buttermilk loaf, Cuban round loaf, Italian, etc.)
Pickling
Cucumbers (dill, garlic, mustard, bucket, etc.)
Peppers (sweet, mild, hot)
Other veggies (eg. eggplant, carrot, cauliflower)
Relishes and sauces
Smoking meats and sausage making
Polska kielbasa, Ukrainiski kowbassa
Krakowska, Kabanosy, Bratwurst
Baby back ribs, Pork loin
Poultry
Dining (Mexican, Chinese, Italian, Indian, among others)
Jucy Lucy (Matt's Bar & Grill, Minneapolis)
Blackened walleye pike (Seasons Tavern, Hudson)
Zarape (Azul Tequila, Hudson)
Chiles relleno (my go-to favorite test of Mexican restaurant)
Mongolian grill (B.C. Mongolian, Stillwater)
Pasta e fagioli (Yarusso's, St. Paul)
Home cooking favorites
Blue Lucy (blue cheese Jucy Lucy) burgers
Bratwurst with grilled peppers and onions on a brat bun
Fajitas, Soft tacos, Quesadillas
Pasta dishes galore
Buttermilk oatmeal pancakes
Chinese & Stir fry (Hunan, Szechuan, Mongolian)
Meat loaf
Vareniki/Pierogi
Kholubtsi/Golembki
Pork chops or roast cooked with wild rice
Bavarian or Polish style sausage & kraut
Chili (several varieties from home cooking to chili cook-off competitions)
Stuffed peppers
Barbeque baby back ribs (smoked or not)
Indian food (including Rogan Josh, Kholapuri Lamb/Mutton, Kadai Gosht, Murgh Makhni, Jhinga Masala, Pork/Chicken/Duck Vindaloo, Palaak Paneer, Dum Gobi, Sookhe Aloo, Baingan Bartha, Jhinga Samosas, Chole, Chappati, Puri)

NONE OF WHICH I CAN FIND ON MY WEIGHT WATCHERS' APP!

Melo

Too much navel gazing and you will waste away.

Flying fish puppets.

MJO,

Wonderful to know that there are other royalists around. Viva Cristo Rey!

Jani

Can you post a pic?

wub wub wub wub wub wub

Ohnos! I went "dub wub wub" when I meant to go "dub wub dub dub"! *hangs head in shame*

-------

*wonders if anyone gets the reference* I'm thinking you may all just be too civilized for me ;)

Many Gregorian chant nerds are Trekkies? I'm shocked. (/sarcasm)

I like Star Trek, but I like Babylon 5 even more. Puer natus est...

http://youtu.be/Jli3ruqWYlc

Shouting things into a megaphone pointed out car window while driving down the street.

Chiles relleno (my go-to favorite test of Mexican restaurant)

I agree wholeheartedly.

collecting Pre-Vatican II Catholic hymnals (and recording, disseminating, preserving this music)

running
hiking/mountain climbing
kayaking
biking

Polish restaurants

teaching computers

60s music (pop, rock, folk)

my dog

I, of course, can not know the specifics of your health problems. However, I can offer prayers for your recovery, and will gladly do so.

Ha! This is such a funny thread...here goes

running
swimming
pumping iron (!)
gardening
mowing/weeding/edging
cooking
housework

common thread? Anything that keeps me active and isolated...so I can think!

Emo chant, Eno chant, Ero chant, Era chant, Aero chant, Elmo chant, Hell, no chant!, Well, no chant?, Eco chant, Echo chant, El Dochant, Elbow chant, End o' chant.....

Here is my stained glass window, which Francis asked me to post. Some background: our parish built this church in 1989-90 and it is a very plain thing to behold. About 10 years ago, one of the women who cuts glass proposed that we build stained glass windows for the 18 clerestory windows. Each window is about 34"-36" wide, and I really can't remember how deep. She chose the colors and designs, opting for liturgical colors. All the windows were designed to have the diagonal pattern radiating down towards the sanctuary. But then I saw a pattern book that had windows with these medallions in the center, so I whined and fussed until she relented - warning me that this was not a beginner's window. Pffff. I think it turned out well, for a beginner ;-) But just in case you missed it, this is a dove with an olive branch in it's little beak, which incidentally is about a 1/4" triangle.

Wow. fun to read this thread...thanks, Ben.
Lemme see....(but wait....Charles! You're a fellow skins fan? Actually, that makes sense. Too bad they continue to self destruct....)

biking - road biking (esp. when annoyed...like Saturday, did 30 miles and now I can't remember what I was annoyed about....it works)
my kids & my sweet husband
laughing & being silly - often w/kids & friends, but more often w/ the dogs
the beach....biking at the beach, swimming & esp. doing nothing but staring at the ocean
gardening.....we have a couple of acres and I like to pretend I'm a flower farmer
birding - finally got hummingbirds to hang out in our yard - next, bluebirds
deering - made up name for trying to get 'our' deer to eat from a bowl while I hold it....and yes, I've had success....
ignoring reality (which gets me into trouble)
trying to figure out time
Andy Griffith
Frazier
Lark Rise to Candleford
White Collar
The Good Wife (when she's good - don't like her when she's slutty)
our four dogs - Josie black lab named after husbands grandmother (?); Lola-adopted w/name; and Lizzy and Jane, sisters named for the heroines of Pride & Pred. (what else?)
watching Psych w/ my 15 yr. old son, James
painting furniture
painting floors - just did a checkerboard pattern on the screen porch
making cake stands & jewelry keepers from vintage china...i know, i know...but it's a real thing - and sold them on Etsy
swing dancing - with my daughter - hubby is NOT a dancing guy
researching whatever interests me....spend a lot of time doing that
photography
psychoanalyzing people incorrectly
Miss Marple, Poirot, Inspector Lewis, BBC, Masterpiece Theatre, Dowton Abbey
driving our convertible mustang too fast
Joni Mitchell
the blues
working on having better diction and avoiding talking like a guy from Jersey
pretending every things fine cuz it usually is and I'm just freaking out
playing my 1961 Martin Parlour guitar
Eric Clapton - almost everything
shopping online for vintage jewelry, china and sunglasses
teaching the dogs to run on a leash while I ride my bike....(only two at a time)
figuring out ways to go to the beach and/or buy a beach house
great architecture (admiring it)
art galleries (lingering there)
laughing
talking to God and cracking jokes w/ Him - but of course He always one ups me....
lots more....but thats enough...