This was a few issues ago, but I thought it might generate some discussion:

BEST BANDS
"My favorite band in the world right now is Tool. I think their newest CD, 10,000 Days, is the best album they've ever done. I love the song "Right in Two." Something about seeing live shows inspires me. I just saw them here in Hawaii, and they blew me away. But that's only one of 10 bands I could list that I've been a huge fan of. Like, I've always been a huge fan of Pearl Jam, and I love their new album, Pearl Jam, too. I think they're coming to Hawaii sometime in December, and I'm really looking forward to seeing them."

BEST CARS
"I have two old cars right now. One is a 1967 Mustang Fastback, which is very, very close to the car Steve McQueen drove in Bullitt. I also have a 1950 Mercury Coupe I'm working on that's really crazy. I've gone through several levels of monetary commitment to it. When I first started, I was doing it with the help of a mechanic and doing some of the work myself in a garage in Manhattan Beach [California]. I pretty much finished the car, then decided to redo it in a different, bigger way. Now it's at a shop in Torrance [California] with one of the most amazing car builders going right now. I have input and decide on many things about how the car is going to look, but somebody else actually executes it."

BEST BOOK
"A book I read over and over and that I think is absolutely genius is called A Fan's Note, by Frederick Exley. It's kind of a fictional biography, I guess you'd call it, based on his life. The man dealt with being in and out of mental institutions, being a raving alcoholic, and it's one of the funniest, most darkly humorous books you'll ever read. It's absolutely incredible, and I highly recommend it."

BEST BEER
"I had a huge brand loyalty to Coors when I was 18 through 22, just because my father grew barley for them. Whenever I go back to Wyoming, I'll still drink a lot of cold Coors. But my favorite now is a Mexican beer called Bohemia. It's outstanding."

BEST BAND- Without a doubt, the Rolling Stones. They constantly blow me away with their studio albums although I am sick and tired of Jumping Jack Flash and Satisfaction!

BEST CAR- I am not a big car person (can I keep my testicles if I admit this?) but I love my Honda Pilot!

BEST BOOK- "Stories from Margaritaville" by Jimmy Buffet. This is a book I take out every couple of years and reread for pure escapism.

BEST BEER- Right now it is anything by Berkshire Brewing Company or I recently discovered something called Wailing Wench Beer. It has a great label (heaving Bosoms!!) At 8% it packs a wallop

Best band-Of bands still touring-System of a Down or Disturbed, not touring-Phish, in the past-Led Zeppelin is the best of all time!

Best Car-I could care less about cars, and yeh I get to keep my testicles after saying that! But what the hell, I like Ford Rangers and F150's classy and powerful.

Best Book-The town and the city by Jack Kerouac (written before On the Road, yet published after it when he became an icon) or The Sun Also Rises by Hemingway

Best Beer-Petes Winter Brew if you can find it, Sam Adams Light is good, Chimay if you want to spend some cash. Dockstreet was great before the company changed hands around 2000. I prefer local brew pubs for stuff you cant buy in the stores.

Bands - I guess I'm aging - I don't think that any newer bands are worth a damn (hey you kids - get off my lawn!!). I do like REM, Green Day, maybe some others. But I'm finding that head banging is in my past. I'm more cocktails and Sinatra now (where did I put those Quiet Riot CDs anyway?).

Cars - I've been a car nut forever, and love the Ford GT and new Mustang Cobra. Oh, and Camero's are for drug addled hippies.

Books - I'll have to check out the Kerouac title. I'm really partial to Hemingway as well.

Beer - There's a place in Lawrence Kansas called "The Free State Brewery". Excellent beer (at least it was back in the day).