So over at the Metamagician, Russell filled out a questionnaire of sorts that I thought was interesting, so without further ado...

Why do you blog? - Because it’s a little like a conversation that anyone can join, and I’m always up for a conversation.

What are your favorite blogs?  - Pharyngula (P.Z. Myers), News From Me (Mark Evannier), ***Dave Does the Blog (Dave Hill)

Who are your intellectual heroes? - Charles Darwin, Elie Wiesel, Robert Ingersoll

What are you reading at the moment? - The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution, by Richard Dawkins.

What is your favorite poem? - Halfway Down by A.A. Milne

What is your favorite movie? - If I must choose, “The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek.”

What is your favorite song?-  Cannot be answered.

Who is your favorite composer? - Verdi

Can you name a major moral, political or intellectual issue on which you've ever changed your mind? - I once tried to conform to the standard Christian view of human’s place in the world. In my intellectual journey, I have come to realize that I do not see evidence for this point of view and I therefore have abandoned it for a secular view of humanity. 

What philosophical thesis do you think it most important to disseminate? - The solution to ours problems must come from our own minds.

What philosophical thesis do you think it most important to combat? -That those in power are inherently right because they are in power.

Who are your political heroes? -Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Ted Kennedy

If you could effect one major policy change in the governing of your country, what would it be? – Start a return to a strict interpretation of separation of church and state by ending faith-based the initiative.

Do you think the world (human civilization) has already passed its best point, or is that yet to come?  - The best is likely ahead, but how we treat the planet has a lot to do with our continued success.

What would be your most important piece of advice about life?  - Don’t let some perceived shortcoming on your part stop you from reaching out to people around you.

Do you think you could ever be married to, or in a long-term relationship with, someone with radically different political views from your own?  No.

What do you consider the most important personal quality? - Kindness.

What personal fault do you most dislike? - Ignorance

What is your favorite proverb? -Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear. Mark Twain

If you were to relive your life to this point, is there anything you'd do differently? -I’d have gone on to graduate school and get a degree in Museum Studies.

Who would play you in the movie about your life? -There will be no film of this life.

Where would you most like to live (other than where you do)? -Manhattan

What would your ideal holiday be? -Spending time with my friends anywhere in the world.

What is your most treasured possession? -My photographs.

If you had to change your first name, what would you change it to? -Shanna

What would be your ideal choice of alternative profession or job? -First Amendment lawyer

Who is your favorite comedian or humorist? -George Carlin or Lewis Black (if the comedian has to be alive).

Who are your sporting heroes? -Tony Gwynn, Vance Mueller, Jerry Coleman

How, if at all, would you change your life were you suddenly to win or inherit an enormously large sum of money? -I’d buy a slightly bigger house since I need room for the books and I’d try to do more for the charities I support.

What animal would you most like to be? -Dolphin