1. Mark Howard

   10 Things About Mark Howard

   1. I played The Artful Dodger in a school production of “Oliver”
   2. I play guitar and piano
   3. My first job was on a dairy farm, hosing shit from the yards after the cows had been milked
   4. I have 8 sisters and 4 brothers
   5. My children live in Quebec, Canada with there mother.
   6. I live in Australia
   7. I was hit by a 18 wheeler semi when I was 9 years old, and suffered a fractured skull
   8. I was hit by a motor-cycle when I was 14, and suffered concussion, and a cut nerve in my left ring finger.
   9. My right foot was run over by a fork lift truck when I was 17, breaking my big toe.
   10. I work in IT these days, in hardware support

   Apr 14th, 2009

2. Scott

   Now THAT’S what I’m talking ’bout.

   Nicely done Mark. You seem to have nine lives

   -S

   Apr 14th, 2009

3. Joe Deegan

   As promised, some random things:

   1) I consider myself a mature guy, but sometimes I can’t help laughing when my beginner students make hilarious linguistic gaffs. For example, during a lesson on family a student once raised her hand to tell me that her father “likes to pleasure her sister.” I lost it. She really meant that her 10-year-old sister and dad play together at the playground.

   2) I’m a big cigar aficionado, but I can’t stand the smell of cigarette smoke.

   3) I always stand on the bus, because I feel guilty for sitting.

   4) I was on Slovak National Radio for a story they did on corrupt Immigration Police.

   5) I once met Steven Van Zandt (‘Silvio’ fom the Sopranos) while walking near Washington Square Park in NYC.

   6) I carry a black Moleskine notebook everywhere.

   7) I have an irrational fear of losing my keys and being locked out of my apartment.

   I think astronomy is amazing.

   9) I have a weird preoccupation with prison life– I’ve seen all the MSNBC and National Geographic docs about prisons.

   10) My brother and I love to watch awful old horror films for sheer comic value.

   Apr 15th, 2009

4. lisa grice (uk)

   10 things about Lisa Grice

   1. I live in the UK
   2. I have lived with my Partner for 2.5 years
   3. I love my family (Nieces and Nephews are the best)
   4. I lost my dad 9 years ago this August 14th to a Massive Heart Attack – he was 52
   5. I fell through a greenhouse and have two scars on my left arm (v.lucky)
   6. I had a tattoo, covered it with another and then had them removed via laser
   7. I have asthma
   8. I am having private swimming lessons to improve my technique – well worth it
   9. I enjoy my job
   10. I sell Toilet Roll!! (Triple Velvet/Quilted Velvet)

   Apr 15th, 2009

5. Bryan Page a.k.a. Jesta

   1. I live in Morecambe, UK
   2. I’m a full-time professional musician (with a little bit of web development on the side)
   3. There’s a very good chance that you’ve sung with me! I’ve sung backing vocals on hundreds of karaoke tracks.
   4. I’ve met two of my childhood idols – at the same event! I had lunch at the Savoy hotel sitting near Jimmy Page and Paul Daniels (british magician) who sat next to each other!
   5. My friends generally consider me to be weird, kind, unable to get stressed and funny (but with an off-kilter sense of humour)
   6. I’m huge fan of The Muppets!
   7. I enjoy the online world of SecondLife.com – I am usually there to socialize, attend live music events or promote my own music
   8. I am a big tea-drinker and get through lots each day. I don’t drink alcohol very often – once or twice a month and usually just a glass of red wine
   9. Each day I take the magical combination of 1 tablespoon Cider Vinegar, 1 tablespoon Honey and 1 clove of Garlic – since doing so I’ve avoided most colds and bugs going around – touch wood
   10. I look younger than I am and I still get my I.D. checked when buying alcohol – even though I’ve been legally allowed to do so for almost half of my life!

   Apr 16th, 2009

6. Brad Close

   Ten Random Things About Me…

   1) I live in Townsville, Australia.
   2) I am an army brat.
   3) I work in telecommunications as an engineer.
   4) I have three kneecaps (full story available on request )
   5) I play the trombone, but have also learnt the euphonium and some guitar.
   6) I have blonde facial hair, which makes it really hard to grow a visible beard (or even a 5 o’clock shadow).
   7) I love corn chips.
   Throughout my life I have wanted to be an astronaut, a doctor and a physicist. Those are the occupations I can remember wanting to enter into.
   9) I am the third of four children, and am the only one not yet married and/or with children.
   10) This is the first time I have posted on the American Cliche website

   Apr 16th, 2009

7. Scott

   These are great everyone! I feel like I’m learning some really interesting things about our community!

   -S

   Apr 16th, 2009

8. alice

   I live in Mexico City, México.

   1. I have broken both ankles at the same time once, and separately 2 times the right one and 1 time the left one.
   2. I arrived to Barcelona to live there for a year as an exchange student having no idea they spoke a language other than Spanish, so I had to learn Catalán in about 4 weeks in order to understand my university courses.
   3. My real name is Alicia, however I was never called that growing up, even teachers called me Alice, so now I have trouble responding to my name.
   4. I get queasy anytime I let myself think too much about the universe or the concept of eternity.
   5. When I installed The Sims in my computer I cut off any kind of social contact because all I wanted to do was come home after work to play, weekends too. I have not installed that game in any computer since, it scares me now.
   6. I hate camping just because there’s no decent bathroom outdoors. Also because I hate getting dirt and sand in the nooks and crannies of my body.
   7. I always say that my favorite movies are When Harry Met Sally, Usual Suspects and Noises Off, however, I have not rethought this list since 2004.
   8. I once spent the night inside an ATM in Spain, it was because we thought it was the safest palace to wait the night until the trains started running again in the morning.
   9. I get sad thinking of all the books that have been written that I will never get to read.
   10. I do not believe in Zodiac Signs, however I can always identify Aries and Cancers.

   Apr 16th, 2009

9. lisa grice (uk)

   This is ace!! Great idea Scott!! It’s really nice to hear from everyone. Why not try asking us all just one question a week obviously giving us your answer first

   I like Alice’s Q7, favourite movie – could be the 1st.

   Brad Close – Tell us the story —- 3 kneecaps?!?

   xx

   Apr 16th, 2009

10. Christopher John Punch V.

    1. I was born in Whittier, California. This is only interesting because I was raised in Russell, IA, one of those “backwater” towns that would actually surprise people when considering the individuals it produced.
    2. I almost drowned in Key West, Florida, when I was 3-ish. My father apparently walked on water the first six steps when he was running out to save my flailing ass.
    3. I started college when I was sixteen, but have changed schools and majors so many times, I will only be graduating when I am 22.
    4. I watch episodes of Oz, The Shield, and Nip/Tuck over and over on DVD.
    5. I have a ring that has “John Punch” engraved on the inside.
    6. I can’t run unless I am being chased. And that is if I think I can’t take the guy.
    7. I am a misanthropic, conservative, pyromaniacal, independently libertarian Postal worker. And nobody makes a bumper sticker for that, damnit.
    8. I still have a ticket stub for March 17, 2003, when I went to see “City of God” and was at a restaurant afterwards when Bush gave his address (google the date to jar your memory).
    9. I was homeschooled after elementary school.
    10. I am eagerly anticipating entering the military when I graduate, but my knee and my blood pressure may keep me out.

    Apr 16th, 2009

11. Brad Close

    Lisa,

    The story is that about 9 years ago I dislocated my left patella (kneecap). During the subsequent treatment, I had several X-rays taken of that knee which showed an unusual bone structure – namely two pieces of bone where there should have been one. At first I thought I’d broken the one patella, but a doctor later told me that when me kneecaps started growing (they don’t grow till you hit about 4 I think), that this one had started in two places. One eventually outgrew and subsumed the other, and the dislocation had forced them to separate. Now when I kneel I can feel the groove that separates the two pieces of bone.

    Apr 16th, 2009

12. Scott

    My faves so far – not becaue they are all good things, just like “wow”:

    Mark: I was hit by a 18 wheeler semi when I was 9 years old, and suffered a fractured skull

    Joe: I can’t help laughing when my beginner students make hilarious linguistic gaffs. For example, during a lesson on family a student once raised her hand to tell me that her father “likes to pleasure her sister.” I lost it. She really meant that her 10-year-old sister and dad play together at the playground.

    Lisa: I had a tattoo, covered it with another and then had them removed via laser

    Jesta: There’s a very good chance that you’ve sung with me! I’ve sung backing vocals on hundreds of karaoke tracks.

    Brad: I have three kneecaps

    Alice: I once spent the night inside an ATM in Spain, it was because we thought it was the safest palace to wait the night until the trains started running again in the morning.

    John Punch: I am a misanthropic, conservative, pyromaniacal, independently libertarian Postal worker. And nobody makes a bumper sticker for that, damnit.

    Thank you all for sharing bits of your life. This is exactly what I was hoping to do! For those that sent yours to me in email, please consider posting here.

    -S

    Apr 16th, 2009

13. lisa grice (uk)

    Brad, Wow – but OMG!! thanks for sharing

    Apr 17th, 2009

14. Felipe

    Hey Scott,
    Sorry for not sending you the 10 random things about me. I got super busy with grad school. April is term papers/finals/crazy crunch time. AHHHH!

    Anyway so here are the 10 things about me.

    1. I identify as a biracial white latino. Both of my parents were born in the US, but my dad grew up in Santiago, Chile. He met my mom when he came back to the US in the 1970s after escaping the Pinochet military dictatorship. He had been a political prisoner for a year. My mom can trace her lineage back 200 years in the United States.

    2. I am ridiculously infatuated with Apple. I seem to have everything Apple in my home from the powerbook to the mac book pro, from the ipod to the iphone. I love and am a “mac.” Now clearly, I don’t own all of the devices, but let’s just say we are an Apple family. When I get my own place, I plan to transform it into an “iHouse.”

    3. I enjoy apple juice.

    4. I struggle with reading but I thrive on audio books.

    5. My partner lives in Tempe, AZ. Her name is Morgan.

    6. I think long hair looks good on both women and men. Brian, you should totally grow your hair out. It’s totally worth it.

    7. I like hats.

    8. Once, when commuting from Tempe to San Diego, I drove through hurricane force winds and a hail storm, which busted my front headlight.

    9. I grew up on a boat in the San Diego bay.

    10. I went to four different elementary schools in five years.

    Can’t wait to hear the show next Tuesday!

    Felipe

    Apr 18th, 2009

15. Missy Bachler

    I didn’t know you were that serious about the random things! Here you go =)

    1. I was bitten by a Burmese python when I was 16
    2. pinky toes gross me out
    3. I’m a graphic designer who’s done a ton of wedding invites, logos… etc. I have to design my own in the near future and it gives me a panic attack.
    4. I’m kind of a cougar, marrying a guy 4 years younger than me.
    5. I graduated with 34 people.
    6. I know 7 people who have committed suicide, 2 of which were my best friends and this has changed my life in a huge way.
    7. I live in MN but am from WI and will always be a Brewers/Packer fan
    8. My favorite food is lasagna
    9. One of my goals in life is to make my own wine someday (and for it not to suck)
    10. My car has no horn so I always have a duct tape ball ready in case someone almost runs me off the road because they didn’t check their blind spot (happened 3 times so far this year)

    Apr 20th, 2009

16. Eva Lis Alcérreca

    Ten random things about Eva:

    1. I can´t stand injections! It didn´t use to be so bad when I was little, but when I was about 13 I got a vaccine and almost fainted, apparently an allergic reaction, but ever since I hyperventilate when I have to get a shot and get sooo nervous that I almost faint every time… It took me 3 years to gather the determination to get a piercing!!!

    2. I love tattoos. Of course, there are some not very pretty ones, but in general I like them. I have 4, and I love guys with tattoos.

    3. I loooove milk… I would hit myself against the wall if I developed any kind of lactose intolerance!!!! There´s nothing like a glass of really cold milk on a hot day…

    4. I´ve never had a broken bone – maybe because of all the milk, come to think of it… I´ve had a strained ankle once, and a dislocated bone on my other foot another time.

    5. I taught myself how to read, write, ride a bike and play the piano. I don´t play any more because I never had a piano, I used to play during the summer at my grandma´s house, but now even though I go quite often I don´t stay as long as I did back then.

    6. People don´t believe me when I tell them that all the English I know I learned from school, music, books, movies and TV. I have never lived in a different country (well, right now I am in L.A. and will be for a little while).

    7. When I was little I wanted to be a trapeze artist, but my mom didn´t let me go and live in the circus.

    8. I am not really a vegetable eater… Right now I eat far better than I used to, but the list of things I don´t like is still very VERY long. As I tell my friends, I am the living proof that it´s a lie that if you don´t eat vegetables, you won´t grow up (I am 1.75m) LOL

    9. I love people´s little eccentricities. It´s fascinating and endearing to me to see the little manias and weird habits people have. I think it makes people interesting.

    10. I talk alone. A LOT. But I only sing when I am alone, or when playing Rock Band (that´s the only exception so far…)

    Well, I thought this would be quite difficult but amazingly I could still go for a while!!!

    Apr 21st, 2009

17. Eva Lis Alcérreca

    oh yeah, I forgot to mention in number 6: I am mexican, that´s why I mentioned it.

    Apr 21st, 2009

18. Antonio

    1. While in the army, another soldier said this to me right after shooting practice: “I haven’t checked to see if my rifle is loaded after practice”, then he pointed it at my head and shot. Obviously it wasn’t loaded; but later that year he actually shot and killed another soldier and then committed suicide.
    2. I have saved one man’s live.
    3. My father was kidnapped by Colombian guerrillas for about 4 months. This changed my life forever.
    4. While working at Haagen-Dazs in Key Biscayne, FL, I served Dulce de Leche ice cream to Martina Higgings and flirted with her without knowing who she was. I didn’t recognize her as I don’t follow tennis.
    5. I have 7 best friends, all men, and I have known them since we were all 5, over 25 years ago.
    6. I always liked older women. My wife is 9 years older than me.
    7. Except for a twin brother, I have all the variants of siblings: 1 younger brother, 1 younger sister, 1 older brother and 1 older sister.
    8. I rather watch a movie I have watched before that I know I liked; than watching a new movie I’m not sure I’ll like.
    9. I have a fascination for symmetry and properly ordered things, and I’m proudly delighted whenever my 2-year-old son shows similar traits.
    10. I practice my british accent by talking out loud while I walk alone on the street. Spanish is my primary language.

    Apr 22nd, 2009

19. Lauren

    Not that I’m looking for a free plug for my blog, but I not only have 10 things about me, I have 25!

    http://letstalkaboutlauren.blogspot.com/2009/02/me.html

    Check it out if ya want. I’ll post the first 10 here:

    1.) I’m a very irritable person. The smallest thing can set me off. If you read my Twitters, you probably can tell a few of the things that set me off. Loud crunching, and people who snort and clear their throat….

    2.) I’m a really shy person at first, but once we talk for a bit I start to open up. I get nervies!

    3.) I’ve been belly dancing on and off for the past 8 months or so. It was only $5 a class in Indiana, but its $13 per class here in Chicago. But I love it so much, price doesn’t matter to me.

    4.) My nose is always cold, even when its hot out. I say its like the polar ice caps. I think its really big.

    5.) Every time I get a hair cut, I try to get something different. I think my hair is a big part of who I am!

    6.) In high school I used to take a really really fine paint brush and paint little tiny pictures on my ring finger nail according to the time of year or what holiday was coming up. I used acrylic paint and covered it with topcoat.

    7.) Since being vegetarian, the only meat I have craved once in a blue moon is corned beef and hot dogs. (I haven’t caved!)

    8.) I think people should mind their own business, but its so hypocritical for me to say that because I always want to know what’s going on in people’s lives!

    9.) I have serious trust issues when it comes to boyfriends and relationships because I’ve had such bad luck in the past.

    10.) I can’t watch movies with violence. If there’s a gun or a fighting scene or a knife, I can’t watch it. It makes me sick. I don’t think people need to surround themselves with such negative things.

    Apr 23rd, 2009

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