Photo A Scientist at the Movies
Reviews by Greg Paris
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Personal Background

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In my day job, I have returned to doing science, hands-on, supporting oncology drug discovery and design with computational chemistry, cheminformatics and bioinformatics. I am an "ex-" many things: librarian, oceanographer, microbial physiologist, sailing instructor, rock climbing instructor, software designer and programmer, small business entrepreneur and consultant, Scottish athlete, executive director, manager and administrator. Besides movies, in my copious spare time (?!) I have been known to officiate at Scottish games, judge science fairs, mentor for the Science Olympiad, read technical textbooks onto tape for blind and dyslexic students (RFB&D, or the Cambridge studio), or just read.

Tastes in humor: Broad -- from Monty Python, through Mel Brooks, to the Marx Brothers; including Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), the Avengers (TV), Rob Reiner, and the wit of Oscar Wilde. Physical humor can be quite funny, but I avoid explicitly scatological and obscene "cable comedy" -- and I tend to lean away from the attitudes of Jim Carrey and Will Ferrell. I recommend browsing over the list compiled a few years ago by the American Film Institute (AFI) of the 100 best comedies of the past 100 years. Although they miss a few of my favorites -- like Hopscotch (with Walter Mathau, 1980), The President's Analyst (with James Coburn, 1967) or The Princess Bride (by Rob Reiner, 1987) -- it is a gold-mine of excellent films.

Tastes in network TV: I don't watch a lot of broadcast television. Now I'm watching "Numb3rs" and "Cold Case" (when there's not a writer's strike), "Medium" and "Lost" (when the network actually finds time to air them...), trying "Moonlight" and "Terminator: The Sarah Conners Chronicle" (both new this season), and fit in an occasional "CSI" or "NCIS". In the summer season I favor "The 4400" and "Eureka". And that's about it. In the past (and this goes back several decades), I have enjoyed "Invasion," "Joan of Arcadia," "John Doe," "Dark Angel," "The X-Files," "Millennium," "Northern Exposure," "Fraggle Rock," "The Avengers" (the original series with Patrick McNee and Diana Rigg), "Star Trek" (the original series), "The Outer Limits" (the original series), and "Rocky and Bullwinkle." And I just barely remember "Crusader Rabbit," so if anyone has any old tapes or memories of this antique, write me (I've already struck out at New York's Museum of Television and Radio).

Tastes in reading: Broad and continuous, with a strong emphasis on science fiction (recent recommendations, 1993 to 2001), fantasy (20 years of recommendations, up to 2001), general science and scientific essays, and Neolithic archaeology. A favorite theme is the hidden or undiscovered document, as for example in:

This theme has become somewhat more popular lately with the advent of some of Dan Brown's novels, the movie version of Da Vinci Code, and Disney's entree into National Treasure. What really interests me is knowledge or documents or artifacts that are hidden, forgotten, denied, unrecognized, lost, concealed, and/or ignored -- and this applies to more than mere fiction.

In recent years, I've developed a taste for a few traditional (and not-so-traditional) gumshoe mysteries, including:

Although I say I will read almost anything, I seldom read current best sellers -- fiction or non-fiction -- but will on some occasions listen to an audio-books version while doing distance driving (Kostova's Historian worked well). But I break my own habits for the Harry Potter novels in hardcover, and the Jim Dale audio recordings of these books are absolutely wonderful.

Tastes in music: Narrowly focused in a variety of areas, but slowly evolving. In my youth I favored orchestral and grand choral works -- Bruckner, Mahler, requiems (requia?) and light German opera (e.g., Wagner). Today I prefer smaller scales: classical chamber music (my favorite instruments are the cello and the Japanese shakuhachi, but the violin is not far behind) and soloists such as Jacqueline Du Pre, Mstislav Rostropovich, Yo-Yo Ma, Anne Sophie Mutter, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Hilary Hahn and Sarah Chang.

No less important is Celtic music -- all types: both popular and obscure Scottish and Irish folk, pop, ceiligh or rock groups. This includes bands and groups such as Clannad, Wolfstone, Capercaillie, Altan, Solas, Lunasa, Gaelic Storm, the Rankins, Cherish the Ladies, Anuna and (most recently) Sephira; fiddlers such as Natalie MacMaster, Alasdair Fraser, Liz Carroll and Winifred Horan; and female vocalists such as Marie Brennan, Karen Mackenzie, Enya, Loreena McKennitt, Mary Black, Isla St. Clair, Talitha MacKenzie, Kate Rusby, Cathie Ryan, Karen Casey, Susan McKeown and Cara Dillon.

Also occasional oddments such as October Project, The Corrs and Adiemus.

Tastes in art: Photography (mostly landscape, sometimes B&W), and both Inuit sculpture and prints. The photography ranges from Ansel Adams, to Rodney Lough, to my brother, Jeff Paris. The Inuit sculpture and prints decorate much of the shelf and wall space in the house; we specialize in "critters with attitude." Although we've slowly acquired our Inuit collection from a variety of places, we have had long experience working with Albers Gallery (San Francisco, CA) and Inuit Images (Sandwich, MA).

Tastes in single malt Scotch: I like peat reek and smoke, the very unsubtle in whisky. Preferences include (a) Islay whiskys, including Ardbeg (pre-1976), Port Ellen, Lagavulin, and young Laphroaig; (b) Campbelltown whiskys, both Springbank and Longrow; and (c) Highland Park; followed (d) by a smattering of Speysides in sherry casks, including Longmorn, Macallan and Glendullan. There are a few independent bottlers that I favor, including Cadenhead's and Gordon & MacPhail's.

I've started enjoying a few American bourbons, although I'm not quite as knowledgeable and discriminating in this genre. I like Booker's, and Bulleit, and will take Maker's Mark if these are not available. I've found by experimentation that I do not like rye to contaminate my bourbon.

Tastes in sports: Damn few. I've never been interested in team sports, and even few individual sports have held much attraction. I don't consider myself all that competitive. Bicycling and occasional hiking (often to find remote archaeological sites in Scotland) are my sole activities outside the gym; rock climbing and winter mountaineering were major activities in my youth. For about a decade I participated in Scottish heavy athletics -- large men throwing large objects -- and then moved into officiating when my shoulder started giving me problems. In summer Olympic venues, I enjoy fencing and sailing (and participated in both long ago). In winter venues, I enjoy cross-country skiing and speed-skating (but only participate in the former), and have begun to appreciate the subtle art of curling (as an observer).

Tastes in dogs: Bearded collies, definitely; we have four of them. They keep us young and frazzled. The dogs themselves deserve a home page, what with all their interests, titles and awards in obedience, conformation, sheep-herding, rally and agility. Via my wife Joanne, several of our critters are actively involved in herding (sheep & ducks), obedience, rally and agility -- take a look at Rob, Beau, Belle, and Flash in action. If you want to find out more about this occasionally thrilling spectator sport, check out this BAD page. Our new expanded Massachusetts backyard is currently an obstacle course of agility equipment -- no sheep for herding, though, although this is likely just a question of time...

(updated, 1-Mar-08)

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