Arrrgghhhhh ... I've been tagged!

Mostly because I view it as little more than a high-tech version of the chain letter, I've up until now managed to avoid taking the bait and being "tagged."

So, what's changed that? Well, the charming Emma of All About My Movies tagged me yesterday, and since she operates my current favorite blog about movies, I had to comply.

As far as I could tell, the topic was "Nine Weird Things People Might Not Know About Me," so here goes:

1. I once worked as an intern for Gordon Brown, currently Britain's chancellor of the exchequer and most likely its next prime minister. This was for about six months in 1992, when he had a lot less power than he does now. I was one of only four employees, and we actually shared one office with the staffs of Tony Blair (perhaps you've heard of him) and Jack Straw. A truly odd experience, but one I never fail to include in my resume now.

2. Though I am a 36-year-old gringo, and fairly comfortable with that fact, I have a growing obsession with Southern rap music. Not sure exactly why, but it's definitely the style of music that fits my mood now. I like Ludacris, T.I., Eightball and MJG, the Geto Boys, just about any Southern rappers you can think of, and especially David Banner.

3. Though I can cook almost anything by following a recipe, I am terrified of trying to whip up a concoction of my own making. I guess I just like the order of following a set list of instructions, and the lack of risk in it. Maybe one of these days I'll get over this culinary hurdle.

4. Though I've never hunted, and only fired a .22 rifle once at a Boy Scout camp, I have a painting over my mantlepiece of three sporting dogs on the trail of their master's fallen prey. I just like it.

5. The wierdest job I've ever had, hands down, was dealing blackjack in the back of a "gentleman's club," Toppers in Athens, Ga. I have to confess it was fun, though luckily I managed to move on and not make a career of it.

6. The book I've read more than any other is Bill Buford's "Among the Thugs," which details his time spent with English soccer hooligans, primarily the most rabid fans of Manchester United. It's not my favorite book, which would be Nick Hornby's "Fever Pitch," just the one that I pick up most often when I'm going on a trip and don't have anything to read.

7. For nine months after I graduated from high school, my parents sent me to France to live with a host family in the tiny town of La Plaine Sur Mer and go to another year of high school. I think their main motivation was that I finished high school with about a 2.5 grade point average, and therefore needed something to make my college application stand out a bit more, but I'm certainly glad they convinced me to do it. I lived with a Swiss couple who were in their 60s, Charles and Suzanne, and their son, Yvan. Charles, in particular, was just a very strange man. Among his many quirks were that, though he was an extremely smart man, he just couldn't understand how the score is tabulated at a tennis match, and he refused to let anyone turn on the radio in the car. But I had a blast living with them, and am eternally grateful.

8. Though you would never know looking at me now that I have ever done anything particularly athletic, the summer after my freshman year at Catholic University I actually did the Cycle Across Maryland. It was 300 miles of cycling in six days, and though it was fun at the time, it's certainly not anything I ever need to do again.

9. Though under intense questioning I will admit that it's not high art, I simply love that talking-pig movie "Babe." Heck, I even liked "Pig in the City" quite a bit too.

And there you have it. I've been tagged, and I've survived. Though I'm now apparently supposed to put several more people through this exercise, I can't bring myself to do it. If you choose to, and post the results, please let me know. I have to admit, it is oddly cathartic.