Tolkien (obviously)
meditation
programming
metaprogramming
pipe tobacco
Discordianism
Defeating the Illuminati
electronic trance music
the Mayan Calendar
My lucky Calico cat named Starseed
First Lord of the Rings reading experience:
A friend got into the movies, and after nagging me for the longest time, he finally got me to agree to come over and watch them. This happened when the Return of the King appeared in theaters, fortunately he had downloaded it so we could watch all three in comfort. I felt completely indifferent beforehand, and figured I had nothing to lose either way. By the end of the first disc of the Fellowship of the Ring, I could hardly speak, and my opinion had changed to considering these the greatest movies I had ever seen, an opinion which remains to this day, and which I suspect will remain until the next entertainment medium becomes firmly mastered to the point of adapting the Lord of the Rings to it.
Favorite Tolkien character:
I really try not to think in terms of absolutes - of "bests" and "favorites." That said I probably resonate the most with Gandalf, secondly with Bilbo, and to an extent with Frodo. I smoke a tobacco pipe, I have a little beard, I became blind at birth so have a cane, I meditate a lot and have an interest in real magic. Bilbo and Frodo come into play because they go on a huge quest. Bilbo just wants to get back to his hobbit hole and have his pipe and tea. Frodo doesn't really have a choice, he has to save Middle Earth. They complete their quests through fellowship, the little people uniting to face a common evil. This has great import in these times.