Hobbies, Accomplishments & Trivia

Here are some more things that may or may not interest you.

Hobbies ˆ

I have many interests—perhaps too many. The obvious problem with hobbies is the fact that they require time (and sometimes money). The more you spread yourself out, the harder it is to excel at any one thing.

On the other hand, life would be awfully dull if we didn’t dabble in a few hobbies, and I have done some dabbling.

I hated sports when I was growing up. But when I was in the Navy I discovered hockey and soccer and became an instant fan. I played hockey in Newfoundland, Bellingham, Washington, and Fairbanks, Alaska. I played soccer in the same places, but mostly in Seattle. I used to play marathon soccer games five or six days a week.

Today, I don’t watch sports except for World Cup soccer games.

I also discovered martial arts while in the Navy, though I didn’t pursue it with the same enthusiasm I had for hockey.

In college, I discovered dance and was instantly addicted. I took classes in ballet, jazz, and modern dance. Years later, I took Latin dance classes in Seattle. I think it was around 2017-2018 that I discovered Latin music, which sucked me into Latin dance. It was love at first sight.

However, I found dance very frustrating. As with martial arts, you have to start training when you’re about six years old if you really want to excel. Social dancing is more forgiving, but you have to deal with the social scene, which is pretty bleak in Seattle.

On the positive side, I still listen to Latin music more than all other genres combined.

Languages fascinate me, and I’m embarrassed to say that I can’t speak any but English. I have studied Spanish, though my ability is far below conversational. I also studied a little French and Swahili long ago. Unfortunately, it’s very hard to learn languages in the U.S., where English is spoken almost everywhere. I hate studying languages in the classroom.

The outdoors has always been my greatest passion, and I was long obsessed with mountain climbing. However, I’ve only climbed a few mountains.

Like most people, I love to travel. What a great way to learn another language!

Unfortunately, I now have almost no hobbies. I have a very physical day job which doesn’t leave me enough time or energy to do all the things I want to do. I spend most of my free time working on my writing projects. However, my writing is all about learning, which is another personal hobby, or obsession. Politix and philosophy are among my primary interests. Of course, there’s always time for listening to music.

Accomplishments ˆ

I’ll never climb K2 or be a world leader. However, I’ve had a relatively adventurous life, and there are several accomplishments I’m proud of.

I think it’s cool that I’ve lived in the four corners of North America and visited the four corners of Alaska. I’m also proud of the diversity of work experience I can list in my résumé, from the military to wildlife biology, teaching, mail handling, and writing.

While working at Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo, I was awrded a scholarship to study endangered species at Gerald Durrell’s famous Jersey Zoo, in the Channel Islands.

One of my greatest adventures was a solo round-trip flight from Seattle to San Diego. I encountered a number of situations I was ill prepared for and was lucky to return alive. But it was one helluva adventure.

Politix ˆ

During my employment as a teacher I transformed into a political activist. Though it sounds horribly arrogant to call myself Seattle’s only activist, it isn’t far from the truth. When I challenge people to name another notable (and authentic) Seattle activist, I’m inevitably answered with silence.

I was the only person in Seattle who waged a continous war against the derelict Seattle Schools Superintendent John Stanford. My first campaign for public office in 1999 took the Seattle Mafia by surprise and began and ended with some amazing conspiracies. The next year I ran for state office. I had several powerful opponents, yet I got 8% of the state vote, which I still think is pretty amazing.

I’ve run for public office ten times (including two bids for the office of governor), which isn’t a record, but it’s probably close. I’m proud of the fact that I’m always the most outspoken and truthful candidate.

As far as I know, I’m the only political candidate in Washington State who has made Jews a campaign issue. Ironically, I probably got more press in Israel than in Seattle.

During my last election campaign (2020), I plotted my very own conspiracy, based on my book Jew Flu. It was successful beyond my wildest dreams, rescuing an otherwise doomed campaign from oblivion.

I created my own political party, the Fifth Republic Party.

I’ve coined a number of socio-political terms, notably Jewarchy. (Jewarchy.com is currently my second most popular website.)

Writing ˆ

I’ve had a few magazine articles published. The most exciting was a series of articles about Montana’s state symbols published in Montana Magazine during that state’s centennial.

A couple decades ago, I self-published two books, (IR)Rational Parks and Teacher With an Attitude. The latter was poorly written and put together. Nevertheless, it was the only tell-all book focusing on the Seattle School District ever published.

I had a contract for a series of books about Fossils of the 50 States with a major publisher, Lerner. Unfortunately, they offered me a contract that screwed me so badly, I felt I had no choice but to back out. (Incidentally, Lerner is owned by a Zionist Jew, Harry Lerner.)

Giving up on print publications, I then focused on the Internet. I had some very popular websites, but my traffic crashed after my websites were scuttled by hackers and technical problems.

Though few have been published yet, the sheer number of books I’m currently working on is something I’m proud of. But far more important is the fact that my books are gutsy and truthful, tackling taboo subjects that typically get books banned in the U.S., supposedly the land of free speech.

Judging by the competition (or lack thereof), my book Conspiracy Science will be the best conspiracy reference ever published. I haven’t found a book comparable to Jews 101, either.

Taking a break from politix, Geobop’s State Symbols will be by far the biggest reference on that subject ever published. I was also the first to develop a state symbols classification scheme as well as a series of report cards for each state’s roster of symbols

I’ve also played a leading role in the design and promotion of new state flags.

Regrets ˆ

Is it OK to have regrets? Some people say we should forget the past, which just drags us down, and focus on the future.

For me, it’s a question of balance. I think the past is very important and should not be simply buried. Although getting bogged down in regrets probably isn’t a good strategy for success, I don’t know how any intelligent person can not have at least a few regrets.

I was a lousy student in elementary school, high school and college. I was particularly bad at math. The highest math class I ever took was an introductory algebra class in college. As I recall, I got a D.

Yet those aren’t regrets. On the contrary, I’m proud of the fact that I’m a self-learner. My lack of aptitude for math (which I’ve never really had any use for, other than counting change) is offset by my affinity for writing, and I think communication skills are far more important than math.

Far more embarrassing for me is the fact that I don’t know any foreign languages. I still hope to learn Spanish one of these years.

I deeply regret all the time I spent watching TV, particularly cartoons, when I was a child. What a waste! (Incidentally, I threw my TV away a couple decades ago and have never regretted it.)

I’m proud of the fact that I’m in my mid-sixties and am probably in far better shape than the average U.S. citizen in his or her twenties. Yet I deeply regret the fact that I wasn’t introduced to sports, martial arts, or dance when I was younger.

Another major regret is the fact that I didn’t experience my political awakening until the age of forty. How could I have been so ignorant, even stupid, when I was younger?!

I’m intensely proud of the fact that I became a political activist and waged a lone war against the Seattle Mafia. Yet I was never able to prevail against a lethal combination of corporate-government corruption and public ignorance, greed, and apathy. I was never able to rescue my children (i.e. students) from Seattle’s derelict public schools. That’s extremely painful.

I’m proud of the fact that I have tarred and feathered a lot of deserving assholes, causing a little pain here and there. But I regret the fact that I’ve never killed a pedophile.

One of my biggest and most spiritual regrets is leaving West Dakota.

In fact, I don’t know how I could have stayed. There was no future for me there. I loved the farm, the prairie, but I didn’t have the skills needed to run a farm even if I could have somehow acquired one.

Still, leaving my spiritual home was very difficult, very painful. I also regret the way I left, scarcely looking back until I was much older. I know now that I hurt some people very badly. I wish I could go back in time and somehow change things.

My feelings are perhaps best summed up by a song written by captive Zia Indians …

Trivia ˆ

Religious Beliefs—I’m spiritual.

political affiliation—radically independent

Movies—What could be my favorite movie but The Wizard of Oz?

It’s hard to name a second favorite. Childhood favorites include Shenandoah, How the West Was Won, The Sons of Katy Elder, and Hatari. I was a little older when I was swept away by West Side Story and 2001: A Space Odyssey.

As an adult, I was entertained by Star Wars’ special effects, but the entire series was for me little more than a juvenile Jewish cartoon. V for Vendetta had a plot to die for, but the movie wasn’t really that memorable.

Far more exciting was Avatar, with an environmental theme complemente by dazzling special effects. However, a movie that touched me more deeply was Interstellar, which somehow reminded me of my exodus from West Dakota, a place in time to which I can never return.

Other powerful movies I recall include Bravheart and Last of the Mohicans.

Books—I was a bookworm when I was young. A couple early favorites that I recall are Shag: The Last of the Plains Buffalo (Robert McClung) and a book by Ernest Thompson Seton. I don’t recall the title, but I do recall a poem that I can’t even find on the Internet…

I very seldom read books for fun these days. I’m just too busy working on my own books (and websites). When I was in college, Edward Abbey’s Desert Solitaire and Aldo Leopold’s Sand County Almanac became my Bibles. Though both focus primarily on the environment, Desert Solitaire also helped instill a passion for politics in me.

While on a fishing boat in Alaska, I read Far From the Madding Crowd. I thought English classics would bore me to tears, but it turned out to be a very beautiful book. A Tale of Two Cities was another good book.

Nature books I’ve enjoyed include Cry of the Kalahari, No Picnic on Mt. Kenya, and Jungle Cowboy (by South American naturalist and TV star Stanley Brock).

Che Guevara’s The Motorcyle Diaries was a thought-provoking read. One of the best philosophical books I’ve read is If You Meet the Buddha on the Road, Kill Him! by Sheldon Kopp.

Although I’ve only read parts it, I tend to agree with people who say Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf is very dull. However, I really connected with his account of his discovery of Jews in Vienna. Until then, he had scarcely been aware of their existence. That reminded me of my discovery of Jews, who now control America, in Seattle.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy was a lot of fun, The Little Prince very touching and provocative. I’m also a fan of just about anything by Dr. Seuss.

Music—I grew up listening to Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass, The 5th Dimension, Glen Campbell and other 60s pop stars. For some reason, I didn’t really listen to rock that much until I joined the Navy. It was in Newfoundland that I fell in love with The Moody Blues. I later began to enjoy jazz as much as rock, maybe even more.

My music tastes changed dramatically when I was in my fifties. I now probably listen to Latin music about 95% of the time, primarily Latin jazz and dance music (salsa, cha-cha-cha, bachata, samba, etc.). I also love Andean music. Sergio Mendes’ version of “Mas Que Nada” was my favorite Latin song for a long time, but I now have too many favorites to count. I wasn’t a fan of Shakira until I discovered her song “Hay Amores.”

My favorite inspirational songs include “Children of Sanchez” (Chuck Mangione), “Freedom Theme” (from the movie Braveheart), “Song of the Volga Boatman” (The Red Army Choir), “The Roads to Moscow” (Al Stewart), “Indian Drums” (Johnny Cash) and “Shenandoah” (especially the version by the AMA Choir). “Indian Drums” has become sort of a personal ballad, with its connection with both education and West Dakota.

However, I still enjoy all kinds of music—even some country music. (Johnny Cash, Sonny James and Glen Campbell are among my favorite country stars.) In fact, Latin music has made me appreciate non-Latin music even more.

Food—I like just about everything dark—dark bread, dark chocolate, dark chicken meat (or pheasant, which is even darker), brown rice, and imported dark beer. My favorite vegetable is sweet corn—but only when grown in the Midwest. The corn I’ve bought in Seattle doesn’t begin to compare.

I don’t have a lot of experience with foreign food, but I’ve become a big fan of Thai food in recent years. I also love Mexican food.

I’m not a vegetarian, but I don’t eat an awful lot of meat, for a number of reasons. Like many people, I eat way too much ice cream.

Drink—OK, I’ll confess: I’ve been drunk three times in my life—twice in the Navy and once in college. I swore I would never do it again.

In fact, I couldn’t stand alcohol when I was growing up. Now I enjoy an occasional glass of wine or dark beer. I don’t think I’ve ever drank more than one beer at a time in my life.

However, I usually drink non-alcoholic beverages.

Quotes—I love collecting witty or inspirational quotes. Some of my favorites …

1. “Please believe in the power of one.”—Iris Chang
2. “The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence becomes an act of rebellion.”—Albert Camus
3. “A revolution without dance is a revolution not worth having.”
4. “A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government.”—Edward Abbey
5. “Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell.”—Edward Abbey
6. “A bayonet is a weapon with a worker at both ends.”
7. “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”—Thomas Jefferson
8. “All things are connected.”—Chief Sealth
9. “Who cares who killed [John F.] Kennedy? Plenty of people die all the time.”—phony activist and pseudo-philosopher Noam Chomsky
10. “ou can easily understand how that within a few years Hitler will emerge from the hatred that surrounds him now as one of the most significant figures who ever lived. He had boundless ambition for his country which rendered him a menace to the peace of the world, but he had a mystery about him in the way he lived and in the manner of his death that will live and grow after him. He had in him the stuff of which legends are made.”—John F. Kennedy

Animals—I can’t really name a favorite animal. I’ve long thought of the wolverine as a symol of the northern wilderness, so seeing one was one of the highlights of my trips to Alaska. An encounter with a polar bear—another amazing animal—was also memorable. Other exciting encounters in Alaska include a couple whales trapped in a hole in the ice near Barrow, a white wolf that approached me to within less than fifty yards away before it became aware of my presence, and an arctic weasel that was so fearless I was able to follow it for a ways as it prowled the tundra.

Another memorable experience was the discovery of an enormous squid lying dead on a beach on the island of Adak, in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands. The tentacles were equipped with curved hooks that swiveled freely. It looked like something from a science fiction movie!

The highlight of my visit to Maruata was probably a leatherback sea turtle nesting on the beach one night. I’ll never forget the sight of green sea turtles bobbing in the surf during the day, waiting until the cool of the night to come ashore.

Africa…where do I begin? I almost stepped on a leopard just above tree line on Mt. Kenya. It ran away from us so fast we barely got a glimpse of it. I also remember the sunbirds—similar to New World hummingbirds—that mistook red coats for flowers. Higher on the mountain, we discovered the slopes littered with white butterflies. Apparently, a cloud of butterflies either flew or was blown to a high altitude, where the cold killed them; someone told me it was literally snowing butterflies.

Brushes with Death—I’m not a thrill seeker, but I love adventure, and a little danger does make life a little more exciting. I’ve been temporarily lost at least four times—once in a blizzard on the Arctic Ocean, twice in the fog in the Aleutian Islands and once in a dense forest laced with winding river channels in the interior of Alaska. I was alone the last three times, which made it even scarier.

A brown bear ripped my tent open during my first backpacking trip in Alaska. Fortunately, I wasn’t in the tent at the time. A polar bear approached me and a companion near Barrow, Alaska one day, but we scared it away with a few gun shots.

But my closest call in Alaska came when a careless helicopter pilot started bird watching when he should have been flying. Suddenly, there was a loud explosion and everything turned black. It quickly got light again, and we saw the problem: He had flown into a tree. Fortunately, it was dead; the rotors chopped right through it, blacking out the sky with sawdust. Amazingly, the copter was undamaged, and we just flew away.

I had several close calls while I was a student pilot—three or four on one cross-country trip alone.

But the only time I’ve been clinically close to death was when four men attacked me on the way to work and kicked me in the head. I woke up in intensive care with bleeding in my brain. Amazingly, I walked out of the hospital the next day. I believe the attack politically motivated, but that’s another story.

Heroes—My favorite heroes include Muammar Gaddafi, Che Cuevara, Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez, Evo Morales, Eugene Debs, Helen Keller, Malcolm X, Smedley Butler, Edward Abbey, Crazy Horse, John Ledyard, Adolf Hitler, Arminius, and Spartacus.

Favorite Political Article—Well, my favorite political article focusing on Seattle is probably the classic Who REALLY Runs Seattle? (The Seattle Weekly has hidden most of it. Fortunately, I have a copy of the original.) Another favorite is The Olchefske Files. Just trying to count the scandals and conspiracies mentioned in the article is a challenge. As a bonus, the article itself is part of a conspiracy (the Seattle Weekly, which published both articles, is very corrupt)—and it mentions me. 🙂

Other Cool Experiences—I took a tracking course from Tom Brown (aka “The Tracker”). Tracking animals is both an art and a science, with a little witchcraft thrown in. I will never be an accomplished tracker, but just learning the basics was a wonderful experience.

After the late Seattle Schools superintendent John Stanford died of leukemia, I was quoted in the New York Times and USA Today. (I was Stanford’s biggest critic.)