S.KRAUSE

Favorites

For those who are interested, I thought I would post a list of some of my favorite things -- or at least things I like. Not in any particular order.

• Favorite color(s)
  • Blue
  • I am fond of dark blues and greens, and deep, dark, rich reds
  • I generally don’t care for orange, except when/if it is properly combined with greens, browns, and other “natural” colors
  • You know Pepto-Bismol? I don’t like that color.
• Favorite music
  • Classical
    • The three Bs—Bach, Beethoven and Brahms are among my favorites. I also like: Mozart, Tallis, *some* Wagner, Rachmaninoff, Grieg, Schumann, Schubert, Sibelius (the violin concerto...), Dvorak, Elgar, Chopin, some Liszt, Mendelssohn, and many others. (this list is not complete and not in any particular order)
    • My favorite classical pieces include:
      • Ocrchestral works:
        • The Beethoven symphonies (besides the 3rd, 5th, and 9th, I am particular fond of the 1st movement of the 4th and the 2nd movement of the 7th)
        • The Brahms symphonies (the 2nd and 3rd in particular)
        • The Brahms orchestral serenade in D major (just listen to the 2nd movement; it will hook you)
        • The Brahms “Tragic” and “Academic Festival” overtures
        • Saint-Saens’ “Dance macabre”
        • Prokofiev’s “Classical Symphony”
        • Several of Mozart’s symphonies
      • Piano Concertos
        • Beethoven’s 3rd, 4th, and the “Emperor” in particular
        • The Brahms 1st in d minor
        • Mozart’s 20th in d minor
        • Rachmaninoff’s 2nd and 3rd; both are absolutely gorgeous works
        • The Schumann and Grieg concertos, each in a minor
        • The Shostakovich concerto for piano and string orchestra (op. 35)
        • The Mendelssohn concerto for violin, piano and string orchestra in d minor
      • Violin works
        • Beethoven’s 9th violin sonata (“Kreutzer”) and his violin concerto
        • Bach’s concerto for 2 violins in d minor
        • The Brahms violin concerto, and his violin sonatas
        • The Sibelius violin concerto
        • The Bruch violin concerto
        • The Mendelssohn violin concertos
        • Bach’s sonatas and partitas for solo violin
      • Piano solo works
        • The Beethoven sonatas
        • Many impromptus and rhapsodies by Brahms
        • Schubert’s “Wanderer” fantasy
        • Chopin
        • Bach’s preludes and fugues, and the Goldberg Variations
        • Scarlatti’s sonatas
      • Choral works and such
        • Mozart’s Requiem
        • The Brahms “German” Requiem
        • Verdi’s Requiem
        • Orff’s Carmina Burana
        • Tallis’ “Spem in alium”
        • Bach’s Mass in b minor
      • Chamber works
        • The Beethoven quartets
        • Schubert’s “Trout” quintet
        • Schumann’s quintet for piano and strings
        • Shostakovich’s quintet in g minor and trio in e minor
        • What little chamber/non-piano stuff Chopin wrote
    • Lots of other things that I don’t have the time or inclination to list here
  • Hard Rock/Metal, “Big Hair”
    • Def Leppard
    • AC/DC
    • Metallica
    • Aerosmith
    • Faith No More
    • Nirvana and some Pearl Jam
    • Ugly Kid Joe
    • Guns n’ Roses
    • Alice Cooper
  • Other Popular, Contemporary, 80s/90s things
    • Eurythmics
    • U2
    • Midnight Oil
    • Dire Straits
  • Other 60s/70s/80s/Classic Rock, etc.
    • Peter, Paul and Mary
    • Fleetwood Mac
    • CCR
    • Jim Croce
    • Simon and Garfunkel
    • Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
    • Eric Clapton
    • The Steve Miller Band
    • Bob Dylan
    • Queen
    • Abba
  • Muzsikas and Márta Sebestyén
  • Various female vocalists
  • Johnny Cash (about the only country I’ll listen to)
  • Arik Brauer
  • Timna Brauer
  • Ando Drom
  • Laibach (they’re weird ... that’s good)
• Favorite movies/films
  • The Star Wars Trilogy (I enjoy episodes 1–3, but like them less)
  • The Star Trek flicks (I even enjoy number 5, bad as it is)
  • Bad Arnold flicks (NOTE: all Arnold flicks are bad, but all are fun, too)
    • The Conan movies and Red Sonja
    • True Lies
    • The Terminator and T2 (okay, these are actually really good; #3 is ... a waste)
    • Total Recall
    • The Running Man
  • “Bad” 80s Fantasy Movies
    • Labyrinth
    • The Princess Bride
    • Ladyhawke
    • The Dark Crystal
    • Willow
    • The Last Unicorn
    • The Neverending Story
    • The Beastmaster (oh *so* bad...)
    • Highlander (a new level of cheese...)
  • Blade Runner
  • The Matrx (and sequels)
  • Most Clint Eastwood movies
  • All James Bond films except for “Licence to Kill” with Timothy Dalton
  • Citizen Kane (one of my favorite films, period)
  • Chinatown
  • Amadeus
  • The Seventh Seal
  • The Graduate
  • The Usual Suspects
  • Underground, Dom za vesanje, and Black Cat, White Cat (directed by Emir Kusturica)
• Favorite Directors
  • The Coen Brothers
  • Terry Gilliam
  • Alfred Hitchcock
  • Emir Kusturica
  • Roman Polanski
  • Ridley Scott
  • Orson Welles
  • Stanley Kubrick
• Favorites food(s) and drink(s)
  • Pizza
  • Things with curry in them
  • Thai food
  • many things Italian
  • Hungarian breads
  • German beer
  • Good wine
  • Irish Coffee
  • Ice cream
  • Chocolate
  • Peanut Butter
  • Lucky Charms, Life cereal, Chex
• Favorite numbers
  • pi
  • e
  • i
  • 47
• Favorite American cities and towns
  • Portland, Oregon
  • Madison, Wisconsin
  • Boise, Idaho
  • Newport, Oregon
• Favorite European cities and towns
  • Budapest, Hungary
  • Berlin, Germany
  • Granada, Spain
  • Venice, Italy
  • Goslar, Germany
  • Bruges/Brugge, Belgium
  • Sighisoara, Romania
  • Dubrovnik, Croatia
  • Edinburgh, Scotland
  • Dublin, Ireland
• Favorite fantasy/sci-fi authors
  • Isaac Asimov
  • Peter S. Beagle
  • David Brin
  • Terry Brooks
  • Jack Chalker
  • Susan Cooper
  • Stephen Donaldson
  • Joel Rosenberg
  • Dan Simmons
  • Neal Stephenson
  • Sheri Tepper
  • Tad Williams
• Favorite German authors
  • Goethe and Schiller
  • Andreas Gryphius
  • Herman Hesse
  • Hugo von Hofmannsthal
  • Karl Kraus, Arthur Schnitzler, and Peter Altenberg
  • Franz Kafka
  • G.E. Lessing
  • Thomas Mann
• Favorite books
  • The Woman in White (by Wilkie Collins)
  • The Master and Margarita (by Mikhail Bulgakov)
  • The Club Dumas (by Arturo Perez-Reverte)
  • Hyperion (by Dan Simmons)
  • Der Proceß/The Trial (by Franz Kafka)
  • The Elfstones of Shannara (by Terry Brooks)
  • The Dark is Rising (by Susan Cooper)
  • The Last Unicorn (by Peter S. Beagle)
  • Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid (by Douglas Hofstadter)
• Other favorite writers
  • E.A. Poe
  • Shakespeare
  • Dickens
• Favorite mathematicians
  • Erdös
  • Euler
  • Gauss
  • Leibnitz
  • Pascal
• Favorite scientists (other than those just mentioned)
  • Bohr
  • Einstein
  • Tesla
• Favorite mammals
  • Snow leopards
  • Leopards
  • Domestic cats
  • Wolves
  • my dog (past tense)
• Other Favorite Animals
  • Octopi
  • Various birds of prey
• Favorite games
  • Bridge
  • Cassino
  • Chess
  • Hearts
  • Monopoly
  • Pinocle/Pinochle
  • Scrabble
  • Siedler
  • Tetris
  • Network Doom or Quake
• Favorite sports (to play)
  • Basketball
  • Bowling (is it a sport?)
  • Fencing
  • Shot put and discus (from my track and field days)
  • Soccer
  • Volleyball
• Favorite insect
  • Butterflies
• Favorite arachnid
  • Daddy Long Legs
• Favorite mollusk
  • The octopus—unless you mean to eat’then the answer is “freshly steamed clams.”
• Favorite field of mathematics
  • Probably number theory.
• Favorite TV shows
  • Alias
  • Stargate SG:1 and Atlantis
  • The Tick (cartoon)
  • Animaniacs
  • Mystery
• Favorite toy
  • Legos
• Favorite cheese
  • Cheddar, perhaps