[Thrax]

Originally Posted by Vespertine

My, my... you are handsome, Thrax!

Gee whiz...yer makin' me blush!

Have you ever been married? If so, were you and the wife in the Lifestyle together?

No. The longest relationship I was in was 8 years, and when she made it a long-distance relationship at the 6.5 year mark I had an idea it was nearly gone. We were somewhat freaky within the relationship but never seriously considered going outside of it. It was over in late 2000. Several other multi-month thangs, but no marriage, no ma'am.

What got you interested in Nudism? (<--- Is that a real word?)

Yes, it is a real word.

I was always extremely self-conscious. I found out, about 15 years ago, through Myers-Briggs that I am an EXTREME Introvert. That, coupled with the fact that I didn't hit the puberty goal thing until late high school/early college was a bit of a damper on the psyche. I should have probably been in therapy, but I worked myself out of it. In my early 20s I started traveling internationally, alone, which helped me finally with the wallflower/self-confidence issue to some extent. I was still extremely shy about my body, but decided that if I went to a local nudist resort, that I could come to terms with myself. That was in 1986. It seemed to work. The most important thing that I found out -- similar to swinging -- is that nudists come in every shape and size. And I just love being naked. Because I can't get too much sun now, at my dermatologist's recommendation, I am mostly a nudist at home (comfortably from about May to Oct), and at other random locations.

Favorite book?

Sorry, no such thing.

I’ve worked in libraries (public, academic, business) since high school. I use my local libraries a lot for both work and pleasure. I often don’t buy a book until I’ve read it and decide I really like it, unless, of course, I can find something for 50 cents that looks interesting. I prefer non-fiction to fiction, but a good book means that I can't put it down. Here are some of my likes off the top o' my noggin:

Non-Fiction
Guns, Germs, and Steel – Jared Diamond
Mountains of the Heart – Scott Weidensaul
A Distant Mirror – Barbara Tuchman
Darwin’s Ghost – Steve Jones
The Mountain of Names: A History of the Human Family – Alex Shoumatoff
Anything by Bill Bryson (Notes from a Small Island, A Walk in the Woods, In a Sunburned Country, etc.)

Fiction
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer – Peter Suskind
I, Claudius – Robert Graves
To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
The Barrytown Trilogy – Roddy Doyle
Anything by Nick Hornby (High Fidelity, About a Boy, etc.)
The Harry Potter series (But I must admit, as the character development improves, the settings become less believable in the world Rowling has created. Still fun though.)

Book I have come to hate: The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. At first blush it’s exciting and interesting, but it’s poorly researched and presented, misleading (based on fact? HA!), and features some of the most STOOPID characters I’ve encountered in a novel in a long time. If I can figure out at least half the clues before the protagonist(s) then there is a problem. Still, I’ll probably eventually see the movie to see how they handle it. Basically a load of crap though. Just wish I’d written that load o’ crap.

Favorite movie?

Again, nothing that REALLY stands out. I think I might be indecisive, but I'm not sure...

But for movies, it’s mostly humor:
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Young Frankenstein
Animal House
Princess Bride
The Jerk
A Christmas Story (Fuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhddddggggge!)
Early Woody Allen films: Sleeper, Love & Death...
Many parts of Marx Bros. films: Night at the Opera, Day at the Races, etc.
Animation: Toy Story, Shrek, The Incredibles, and all of the Wallace & Gromit movies

If you must get serious, I thought that Sixth Sense was an outstanding movie (who knew Bruce Willis could ACT?). Kenneth Branagh’s Henry V was so good that I forgot at times that I was watching Shakespeare. Blade Runner, Godfather I, Lord of the Rings, Manchurian Candidate, the first Star Wars trilogy, and Singin’ in the Rain. Oh, and Dr. Strangelove. Yeeeeeeee-haaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Movie trivia: In Citizen Kane, he called his sled Rosebud, but what was the actual manufacturer’s model name and symbol on the sled? Send me your answer or post it here on the thread. A female winner may get to choose her award (no monetary value, of course), if it can be arranged. A male winner, well, you have the proud distinction of being a true film geek and I’m sure it will be acknowledged on this board.

Favorite drink?

Hmmmmmm. I never grew up. I still love ice-cold milk with cereal, cookies, pastries, or most anything containing chocolate.

My favorite adult beverage is beer. Hard to decide which is best. Corsendonk (Belgian)? A good wheat beer? A hearty English bitter? I'm pretty easy as long as it's tasty. And I am no snob. My college years were spent drinking Rolling Rock, so with the Rock there is still that marginal thrill of the (barely) illicit beverage. Just no Coors, please. As far as I'm concerned, Coors is the Earl Grey of beer. Weak and perfumey.

And while we're on it, I prefer tea to coffee. I wasn't much of a caffeine drinker until I worked in "scenic" Slough (west of London), UK, for a couple of months in 1985 and got hooked on the mid-morning and mid-afters tea breaks. Darjeeling is good, English or Irish Breakfast I like, and Prince of Wales tea is good. But heaven is in the chai (tea w/cardamom and other spices) I got in India. Thick as mud and sweeter than Tupelo honey. Mmmmmmm.

Favorite Food?
Too many to consider. My favorite MEAL is what my Mom considers the German New Years "Good Luck" meal: Pork roast, mashed potatoes, sauerkraut, gravy, and breadballs. (Before you Beavis and Buttheads snicker about breadballs, let me tell you about them. Take very plain stuffing/dressing [cubed bread, celery, onions, salt, a raw egg or two, maybe something else, I don't know; mix everything together and form into tennis ball shapes; place around roast to cook and soak up the juices; finish off by heating in a skillet and rolling them around a little] Excuse me, I have to take a breather now. Okay, I'm back.) And vegetables? You need VEGETABLES with all of that?

Favorite Song?

Pop? Probably Unchained Melody.
Classical: Probably Cantique de Jean Racine by Gabriel Faure
I'm a sucker for simple melody and elegant harmonies.
I'll post later about favorite music -- it doesn't exist.

Favorite place you've been?

Aaaaarrrggh! Too many to mention because I realize in my middle age there are different things I like about different places. Here are a few: Pretty much all of New Zealand and Australia. Southern France. Northwest Ireland (where some of my ancestors are from). Cornwall. Cinque Terre (Italy). Garmisch-Partenkirchen (Bavaria). The GRrraaaaand Caaaannnnyonnnnnn.