The list of 8 meme

A tag from the Mad Hatter!

8 passions

1) My lovely new hubby - my soulmate, my best friend, looks awesome in a kilt.
2) My family and friends, old and new - we're scattered across multiple continents, but when we get together it's like we've never been away.
3) Science - doing it, thinking it, reading it, and especially writing about it.
4) Science education - especially in the field of evolution.
5) Skiing - I suck, but I love it.
6) Kayaking - there's nothing like being out on the water.
7) The environment and climate - I cycle to work, reduce, reuse, recycle, compost, buy local etc.
8) Sport - in the order of descending importance, Newcastle United (football), England (rugby), England (football), Vancouver Canucks (hockey), Canada (hockey).

8 things to do before I die

1) Visit Africa - Tanzania appeals for some reason.
2) See great apes in the wild - preferably orangs.
3) Learn to sail - repeatedly falling out of a 1-person laser within 10 metres of the beach does not count, I need to learn to do it properly.
4) Ski a black diamond run - I'm breaking out into a cold sweat just thinking about it.
5) Write a book - long-term goal!
6) Kayak in the Queen Charlotte Islands - the next couple of years' holidays are spoken for but this is high on the list.
7) Own a boat - may depend on successful completion of #3.
8) Adopt a dog - maybe when I'm working from home on my book.

8 things I often say

1) Sorry
2) A'right?
3) Who's going for beers on Friday?
4) I'll just pop to the loo before we go
5) Is it cold in here or is it just me?
6) Leave me alone (when being woken up early on a weekday)
7) Cup of tea?
8) Dude (unfortunately)

8 books I recently read

1) One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson
2) Case Histories by Kate Atkinson
3) A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon
4) Making History by Stephen Fry
5) The Road by Cormac McCarthy
6) The Orchard On Fire by Shena MacKay
7) Punchbag by Robert Llewellyn
8) Joshua, Then and Now by Mordecai Richler

8 songs that mean something to me

1) Not Fade Away, Rolling Stones - 1st dance at our wedding.
2) Even Better Than the Real Thing, U2 - 1st dance at our post-wedding party in England, plus memories of two excellent U2 gigs.
3) Yellow, Coldplay - memories of seeing them headline a festival in Washington State. They closed with this song as the sun went down over the Columbia River gorge.
4) Your Swaying Arms, Deacon Blue - memories of Glasgow. "One day I can see us walking, Arm and arm in sheltered Kelvin Way*, Talking and tripping and teasing, And heading for the best part of the day". They're not that well known outside of the UK but are definitely worth a listen!
5) Anything from Graceland, by Paul Simon. Can I count a whole album? This one is my fave and there's no one stand-out track, the album works best as a single entity.
6) If I can choose a whole album, I can choose a band, so anything at all by the Beatles! Maybe In My Life and Day in the Life (ooh, theme) as particular favourites, plus the medley from the end of Abbey Road.
7) High and Dry, Radiohead - almost made me cry the first couple of times I heard it.
8) Relight my Fire, Take That - cheesy, crappy karaoke memories from University!

*Beautiful riverside walk through the middle of the West End, with a park at either end of it. I lived right outside the gates of one of the parks and walked the whole Kelvin Way on a regular basis. Great museum and pub at the far end!

8 qualities I look for in a friend

1) Sense of humour
2) Intelligence
3) Curiosity and willingness to debate
4) Easygoing
5) Loyalty
6) Fun
7) Shared interests
8) Sincerity

8 people whose blogs I enjoy

1) Abbie (ERV)
2) The Digital Cuttlefish (c'mon, 8 poems in each category! You can do it!)

People who have already done this meme but deserve recognition:

3) Mad Hatter (A Mad Tea Party)
4) Wayfarer Scientista
5) Ecogeofemme (The Happy Scientist)

People whose blogs seem to have dried up, and who will hopefully be prodded back into action by a tag:

6) Chris Harrison (Interrogating Nature)
7) Peggy (Women In Science)
8) CedricF (Mobile DNA)