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Okay, let's dispense with the sloppy sentimentality: though technically I was born in California (on January 2, 1961, to ostensibly proud parents Al and JoAnne), I grew up in the sleepy little town of Everett, Washington, a suburb of Seattle.	That's Right, Joseph Stalin and I share the same birthday! Not surprising to anyone who's taken my Marketing Research course.
Some students ask where I got my education: I wonder why? It's the kind of stuff people ask on first dates -- is that how you think of me? Okay, I'll humor you. I received my Bachelor of Science in Ceramic Engineering at the University of Washington, a school with a beautiful campus and one helluva football program (UPI Coaches' Poll #1 in 1991). And no, Ceramic Engineering isn't just about designing toilets.	One-eyed quarterback Bob Schloredt and the Washington Huskies beat #1 Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl on the day I was born.
After a brief stint as a Patent Examiner in the U.S. Department of Commerce -- a mind-numbing job if there ever was one -- I went to the University of Utah and earned my MBA. I know what you're thinking: Utah? The answer is no, but a few of my friends are.	A favorite joke at Utah: How can you tell if a BYU coed is level-headed? She drools out of BOTH sides of her mouth.
From there, I went on to Tucson to finish my Ph.D in Marketing at the University of Arizona, the home of the 1997 NCAA Men's Basketball Champions. And no, I'm not obsessive about sports. Really.	Tucson has been a favorite nesting spot for ex-Beatles and Mafiosa on the lam.
Though I taught many classes at UA, my first "real" job entailed educating foreigners! The University of Lethbridge is a school about the same size as ours, out in the middle-of-nowhere Canada. The people are warm, the winters are cold, eh?	Canada is culturally indistinct from the United States except for poor retail customer service and really bad football.
Then I came here, where I while away the hours in classes lecturing and making fun of the Accounting faculty, then go home to my wife Sachiko and son Quinn (b. 12/22/96). That's enough of that.	Quinn means "wise counsel"

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Books | Music | Movies

	Books		All of these are currently available in paperback!
	Independence Day, by Richard Ford. No, not the space-aliens one. A divorced Rael Estate agent takes his son on a trip to the Baseball Hall of fame. And More.		Enduring Love, by Ian McEwan. A Balloon. An Accident. An Obsession. A title with double meaning.
	Snow Falling on Cedars, by David Guterson. Okay, it's about Washington, but it sold a lot of books, so it can't be just that. Okay, he's one of those home-schoolers, but nobody's perfect.		Last Orders by Graham Swift.Entangled personal histories emerge as friends and family travel to the seaside to fulfill a last wish.
	Martin Dressler, by Steven Millhauser. If you have the time, you might combine this with E.L. Doctorow's the Waterworks, Caleb Carr's the Alienist and Angel Of Darkness, and Jack Finney's Time and Again and From Time to Time for a turn-of the-century New York funfest		The Price of Admiralty, by John Keegan. Military history with the compelling draw of a good novel. Find out the ins and outs of naval warfare.
	The Hundred Secret Senses, by Amy Tan. Stop that! It isn't just a chick book! Shut up! If you like the historical aspect of this story, try reading Johnathan Spence.		Dragons of Eden, by the late great Carl Sagan. Classic. I give it "billions and billions" of stars.
	Parting the Waters, by Taylor Branch. Good read and hefty doorstop, the sequel Pillar of Fire was out last January.		The Lyre of Orpheus by another late great, Robertson Davies. Forget Smiley's Moo - this is what colleges are REALLY like.

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Music		Okay, first off, you won't find any rap or hip-hop in here. At the same time, you're not going to find country music, either. Let them have their Weltanschauung, I'll have mine. Needless to say, my son Quinn will probably grow up to torture his Dad with some music designed to make Dad's spleen drip with bloody pus.
Which, of course prompts a "Desert Island Disc" list: for you non-readers of Pulse!, if you were stranded on a desert island and could have any ten albums with you, what would they be? Mine:
	They don't dedicate church services to this man for nothing! John Coltrane left quite a bit of music behind, considering how young he was when he died. I particularly like his music on A Love Supreme (left) and Crescent (John Coltrane Quartet, both MCA impulse!), and on Kind of Blue and '58 Sessions (Miles Davis Sextet, Columbia). A Love Supreme: John Coltrane: GRP/Impulse! GRD 156		There is no sweeter sound to my ears than the voice of the world's bestselling mezzo. Sachi and I agree on "Giusto ciel in tal periglio" from her Rossini Heroines (left) album as our favorite. (London/Decca Records) Cecilia sings "Caro mio ben"
	Sure, he did all those impressive things with Miles on Columbia, but he was pretty fab as a leader at Blue Note. Don't Talk to me about Headhunters. Best of Herbie Hancock, the Blue Note Years; Blue Note CDP 7-91142-2		Sachi and I saw Ms. Argerich perform the Prokofiev 3rd in San Francisco last September. Outstanding! Prokofiev Piano Cto #3: Argerich, Abbado; Deutsche Grammophon 447 438-2
	Speaking of Miles, the best of the best, featuring Trane, Cannonball, and the inimitable Bill Evans. Kind of Blue: Miles Davis Sextet; Columbia CK 40579		Ah! Lenny and Dmitri (Shostakovich Symphony No. 7 "Leningrad"). Nuff Said! Also check out the re-release of the two piano concertos, with Andre Previn both Sony Classical in the super-bit-mapped HRH series).
	Sure, it's the album that spawned all the low-talent Windham Hill wannabes, but you've got to take the good with the bad. Texture reigns. Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays: As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls; ECM		Callas and DiStefano flirt in the first act, and one of them dies in the last act. Add Anna Moffo for Musetta's Waltz in act 2, and you just can't beat it. Much better than those Australians you see doing this on PBS. Puccini's La Boheme: Callas, DiStefano; EMI CDCB 47475
	When Triona sings, my heart cries. Luckily enough, Matt, Donal and the boys are always ready with a happy song to follow. Live in Concert: The Bothy Band; Green Linnet Records GLCD 3111		Hardly able to call this obscurist anymore, check out the many versions available now, including Pinnock and Hogwood. But I'll take Boughton, with the Nimbus sound. Boyce: The Eight Symphonies: Boughton and the English String Orchestra; Nimbus
Here are a few recent ones I really liked, too.
	Afro-Celtic! What a mixture. Capercaillie: Beautiful Wasteland Rykodisc		Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach Painted From Memory
	Gil Shaham Barber: Violin Concerto Korngold: Violin Concerto Deutsche Grammophon		Andrew Manze Tartini: Devil's Sonata

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Movies	Any list of favorite movies need necessarily be countered with a list of least favorites, as well as a list of movies I know are claptrap, but I love anyway. Caution, these are one man's opinions, however correct they may be.
Faves	Crap	Guilty Pleasures
Lawrence of Arabia	The Fisher King	At Long Last Love
Wages of Fear	Vanished	Von Ryan's Express
Manhattan	The Hudsucker Proxy	The Way We Were
A Fistful of Dollars	Beverly Hills Cop 3	Top Gun
Dr. Strangelove Hear Merton Muffley	The Trip to Bountiful	Melody
The Searchers	Mrs. Soffel	Saint Jack
A Tale of Winter	Mame	Peyton Place
Henry V (Olivier version)	Steel Magnolias	Phar Lap
A Man For all Seasons	Witches of Eastwick	Rocky V
Ran	Dying Young	Bloodsport
Chariots of Fire	Robin Williams as Robin Williams	Steven Seagal as Steven Seagal

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